Crude oil futures traded higher on Wednesday morning after the US forces conducted fresh strikes on Iranian targets.
At 9.31 am on Wednesday, December Brent oil futures were at $95.44, up by 4.23 per cent, and October crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $90.68, up by 0.51 per cent. September crude oil futures were trading at ₹8610 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Wednesday against the previous close of ₹8536, up by 0.87 per cent, and October futures were trading at ₹8379 against the previous close of ₹8335, up by 0.53 per cent.
A statement by the US Central Command said that its forces completed a wave of strikes against Iranian military targets on September 1. US forces struck Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets, including air defence sites, radar systems, maritime assets and facilities, mine laying capabilities, and communications sites.
The strikes follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members, it said.
US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he likes the position of the US much better now, with almost total control of the Strait of Hormuz. Stating that Iran’s economy is collapsing, he said: “They (Iran) are just playing out the inevitable. When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?”
In their Commodities Feed for Wednesday, Warren Patterson, Head of Commodities Strategy of ING Think, and Ewa Manthey, Commodities Strategist, said Brent pushed back above $95 a barrel, reaching its highest level in more than a month, as Persian Gulf tensions escalated further. After weekend strikes, Iran hit two oil tankers in the region on Tuesday. The US, meanwhile, carried out additional overnight strikes on Iranian targets, adding fresh geopolitical risk premium to the market.
Stating that developments in recent days brought risks to regional oil supplies back into focus, they said: “We’ve seen oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz despite the stalemate between the US and Iran, but rising tensions clearly put crossings at risk. The US energy secretary said 17 million barrels of oil flowed through the strait on Monday, the highest volume since the conflict began. When you factor in bypass volumes, it suggests Persian Gulf oil flows are above pre-war levels. But these numbers are uncertain. Ship trackers have been estimating much more modest flows. It makes more sense to look at average flows over longer periods, rather than a single day, given flows move lots day to day.”
September natural gas futures were trading at ₹280.50 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Wednesday against the previous close of ₹277.20, up by 1.19 per cent.
On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), October turmeric (farmer polished) contracts were trading at ₹20160 in the initial hour of trading on Wednesday against the previous close of ₹20018, up by 0.71 per cent.
September jeera futures were trading at ₹21110 on NCDEX in the initial hour of trading on Wednesday against the previous close of ₹21035, up by 0.36 per cent.