Brent oil trading firm at $113 a barrel as Iran tensions continue to boost prices

Brent crude oil futures continue to trade firm at $113 a barrel as the ongoing tensions that surround Iran continue to boost the price of oil despite persistent worries about Europe’s sovereign debt crisis and continued economic weakness in the US.

Latest Brent Oil Price

In London, Brent crude oil futures for February 2012 delivery was trading at $113.27 a barrel, 18.55 GMT today on the ICE Futures Exchange.

Adding Weight to Higher Oil Prices

Iran’s threats against the Strait of Hormuz have added a premium of about 5 percent to 6 percent to the price of crude oil, said Jim Ritterbusch, head of trading advisory firm Ritterbusch and Associates.

“The announcement yesterday of Iran that it has now moved its enrichment facility deep in the mountains of Qom will be a further step in that escalation process” toward a potential conflict with Iran, said Olivier Jakob of the Swiss consultancy Petromatrix.

EU/Japan Oil Ban

Europe and Japan moved ahead on Tuesday in planning for punitive cuts in oil imports from Iran, where a senior official dismissed Western anger at news Tehran is enriching uranium deep underground as cover for ulterior motives.

A day after Iran confirmed the start of enrichment at a mountain bunker near the holy city of Qom – and also sentenced an American to death for spying – the European Union brought forward a ministerial meeting that is likely to match new US measures to hamper Iran’s oil exports.

France called for measures of “unprecedented scale and severity” against Tehran whilst Greece and Italy, which are bigger customers for Iranian oil, are seeking delays before cutting off imports.

Japan took precautions in case it joins an international embargo on buying Iranian crude by asking Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to help it make up any shortfall.

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Brent oil trading firm at $113 a barrel as Iran tensions continue to boost prices