Oil prices continue to fluctuate. After a significant growth at the end of Thursday’s (March 26) trading, they fell on Friday. The range was moderate, with Brent prices still hovering around $108 per barrel (159 liters), but they are headed for a sharp decline for the week. The development of the market was influenced by US President Donald Trump, who declared that the talks on ending the war in Iran are progressing in a good direction and that he postponed the planned attacks on Iranian power plants by ten days. TASR informs about it based on a Reuters report and Bloomberg data.
- Oil prices are fluctuating again after recent significant changes.
- Brent is holding around $108 per barrel.
- The main influence is the situation surrounding the war in Iran.
- Trump postponed the attacks, but military tensions remain high.
- Analysts predict further price fluctuations and uncertainty.
The price of Brent North Sea oil mixture for delivery in May reached USD 107.91 (EUR 93.52) per barrel by 7:38 a.m. CET. Compared to the previous closing, this means a decrease of 10 cents (0.09%). It thus reduced the gains from the previous trading session, in which it reported a 5.7% increase after renewed fears about the further escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. However, for the whole week, the price of Brent is headed for a decline of more than 4%.
Fluctuations will continue
The price of the American WTI light oil, the same as the May contract, reached USD 94.01/barrel. Compared to the previous close, this represents a decrease of 47 cents (0.50%). Even in this case, the price of oil for the whole week is headed for a decrease of more than 4%. At the end of trading on Thursday, it rose by 4.6%.
According to analysts, fluctuations will continue. Although Trump announced the postponement of attacks on Iranian power plants for a few more days, the US has also sent more ships and thousands of troops to the Middle East, while Trump is still considering whether to launch a ground operation to gain control over the Iranian island of Charg, where the country’s key oil hub is located.
Trump said this week that he had sent Iran a 15-point plan to end the conflict, but Iran said the US proposal was “one-sided and unfair”. At the same time, Tehran sent its own proposal to Washington.
The attack on Iran, launched by the US and Israel on February 28, is robbing world markets of millions of barrels a day, and the International Energy Agency (IEA) has announced that the crisis in the Middle East is worse than the two oil crises of the 1970s and the Russia-Ukraine war combined. According to Macquarie Group analysts, if the war in Iran ends early, oil prices should fall rapidly in the coming months, but will remain above pre-conflict levels. However, if the war in Iran were to last until the end of June, oil prices may rise to $200 per barrel.
