By Goran_tek-en, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=115671987
FORT McMURRAY — Oil prices have climbed back above the US$100 per barrel mark as renewed fighting between the United States and Iran, along with attacks on key shipping routes and other geopolitical tensions, raise concerns about global energy supplies.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, traded above US$100 per barrel on Thursday. West Texas Intermediate climbed above US$93 per barrel, while Western Canadian Select, a key benchmark for Alberta’s oil sands, traded above US$73 per barrel.
The latest rally comes as traders weigh multiple threats to global oil supplies. Renewed fighting between the United States and Iran has again raised concerns over the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s busiest oil shipping routes. At the same time, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another critical maritime chokepoint.
Markets are also watching Ukraine’s continued drone strikes on Russian oil refineries, which have disrupted refining capacity and added further uncertainty to global fuel supplies.
The combined pressures have pushed oil prices sharply higher after Brent crude traded below US$72 per barrel earlier this month amid hopes tensions in the Middle East would ease.
Higher oil prices are also benefiting many Canadian energy producers. Suncor Energy shares climbed to nearly $95 on Thursday, up roughly 73 per cent from the same time last year as investors continue to favour oil producers amid the renewed surge in crude prices.
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