US WTI crude oil futures rocketed four percent higher in trading today following worsening in diplomatic tensions between the US and Iran and the price of oil officially starts 2012 back in bullish mode.
Latest WTI Oil Price
US Light crude oil futures for February 2012 delivery was trading at $102.65 a barrel, 19.05 GMT today, or 3.9 percent higher than session open this morning.
Oil Prices and Iran
Oil traders are concerned that Iran might try to close the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers if the West imposes new sanctions on the country.
Iran today warned the US to stay out of the strategic waterway, where 40 percent of the world’s traded oil is shipped.
Iran’s navy yesterday fired a cruise missile as part of a military exercise. The USS John C. Stennis, along with another vessel, left the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz last week after Iran launched a series of military exercises.
Oil prices remain supported by escalating tensions between Iran and the West.
On Saturday, President Barack Obama signed into law sanctions against Iran’s central bank. Later in the weekend, Iran conducted missile tests in the Strait of Hormuz, the site of several days of wargames and the channel through which a third of the world’s waterborne crude passes.
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WTI oil price trading four percent higher on Iran, nears $103 a barrel
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