Petroleum prices intensified the fall on Monday (23), with investors minimizing the risk to the supply of oil from the Middle East, even after Iran fired missiles at an American air base at Qatarin retaliation of the weekend attacks against its nuclear program.
The American gross oil WTI fell 5.25%to $ 69.96 per barrel at 2:22 pm (Brasília time). Global reference oil Brent also retreated 5.25%to $ 72.97.
The contradictory movement occurs since the bets are that Iran’s retaliatory attacks on the American bases in Qatar will not trigger a broader rupture, being just a response that was long awaited from Iran to the US in recent days – and it was not as extensive as feared.
Iran’s missile attack on an American air base did not cause victims, increasing hope among investors that there may be a way to appease the conflict.
Iran’s Armed Forces reported that they launched a missile attack on the Al-Eudid Air Base in Qatar, where US forces are installed. The White House and the Defense Department were closely monitoring the potential threats to the Al-Eude Air Base, a high White House employee told NBC News on Monday afternoon.
Both reference rates were well below the maximums recorded at night, after the US bombed three important nuclear facilities in Iran over the weekend. Brent rose more than 5% on Sunday night, reaching $ 81 before retreating. WTI has also reached its highest levels since January, before retreating.
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“The market is pricing a scenario where things gradually calm down,” Jorge Leon, chief of geopolitical analysis of Rystad Energy told the CNBC Worldwide Exchange program on Monday.
“The worrying thing is that the other extreme scenario, where there is a threat of closing the Strait of Ormuz, is still realistic,” Leon said. “Things can get worse, very quickly.”
At the beginning of the day, it required “all” to maintain lower oil prices. It was unclear to whom he was heading, although he was probably asking the US oil industry to increase production.
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The Middle East is responsible for about one third of global gross oil production, but there have been no signs of interruption in physical oil flows, including those of loads that pass through the strangulation point of the Strait of Ormuz. Since the beginning of Israel’s attacks, there has been evidence that Iranian Gulf oil shipments have increased rather than decrease.
(with international agencies)
