United States Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Thursday that oil prices are unlikely to reach $200 a barrel, with President Donald Trump touting US gains from higher prices as the war with Iran disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported.
With the US-Israeli war on Iran widening, two crude tankers blazed in an Iraqi port after being hit by suspected Iranian explosive-laden boats, while scores of other oil-laden ships remained stranded with the strait still shuttered.
Oil prices jumped more than 9% to nearly $100 a barrel.
“I would say unlikely, but we are focused on the military operation and solving a problem,” Wright told CNN when asked if prices would reach $200 a barrel, a level that an Iranian official said prices could hit if the war further escalates.
Wright’s use of the word “unlikely” was a veiled concession that a spike to $200 was possible, though he repeated that the price jump would be weeks, not months.
Brent oil hit an all-time high in 2008 of around $147 per barrel, on tension between the West and Iran over its nuclear program, a weak US Dollar, and inflation fears.
