Saudi oil officials said prices could easily soar past $180 a barrel if severe supply disruptions from the war in Iran last past April – potentially hammering foreign economies and the US as gasoline costs jump at the pumps.
While it would mean big profits for a kingdom that leans heavily on oil revenues, it could also lead global consumers to slash oil use or trigger a recession, and there are also fears that it would cast Saudi Arabia as the profiteer of a war it didn’t start, officials told the Wall Street Journal.
Brent crude reached $103 Friday as Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz disrupted the supply of millions of barrels, and attacks on critical Middle East energy infrastructure threatened to keep prices elevated for longer even if the conflict ends soon.
US crude oil has eased away from Brent a bit this week, landing at $95 a barrel Friday, after the Trump administration announced a temporary pause on Russian energy sanctions, discussed possibly lifting sanctions on Iranian oil and weighed another release of reserves.
