Oil prices remained elevated on Monday as hopes of de-escalation diminished further, with US President Donald Trump again threatening Iran with attacks on its energy infrastructure.
While the global benchmark Brent Crude was marginally up by 0.64 percent during Asian trade hours, WTI Crude was 0.3 percent lower than the previous close.
Brent Crude was hovering around $109 per barrel, while WTI Crude remained above the $110 per barrel mark.
The range-bound movement in prices on Monday was a result of Donald Trump’s statements against Iran.
In a social media post on Sunday, he said that the US will attack Iran’s crucial infrastructure assets, including power plants and bridges.
“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the …. Strait, you crazy …., or you’ll be living in Hell,” Trump said in his social media post that used strong language against Iran.
President Trump had earlier extended the deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait to April 6, stating that both sides were having positive discussions to end the war.
However, Israel and Iran have continued to attack each other’s assets in the region. As the deadline is set to end today, there is a threat to Iran’s energy infrastructure, which may rattle the stock markets and economies across the world.
In a separate development, Opec+ countries have decided to raise the daily oil production quota by 2 lakh barrels per day from May in anticipation of the war extending for longer.
The grouping has also warned that raising the oil production target is not sufficient to contain the energy crisis across the world, but repairing war-hit oil facilities in the Gulf region and opening shipping routes would be the main task.
Even if the war ends, experts say it would take time for trade to return to pre-war levels, as both sides have attacked each other’s energy infrastructure so far.
