April WTI crude oil (CLJ26) today is up +1.04 (+1.08%), and April RBOB gasoline (RBJ26) is up +0.0425 (+1.37%). Crude oil and gasoline prices are moving higher today, with gasoline climbing to a 3.5-year high. Escalation of the Iran war is pushing energy prices higher as Iran escalates attacks on oil infrastructure in the Middle East.
Crude prices are moving higher today after Qatar reported "extensive damage" at the world's largest natural gas export plant at Ras Laffan Industrial City. Reuters reported today that Iran's strikes damaged 17% of Ras Laffan's LNG export capacity, a damage that will take three to five years to repair. Also, Kuwait said today that two of its refineries were struck by Iranian drones and oil loadings on Saudi Arabia's west coast, a vital export route for the country amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, were briefly halted by an Iranian attack. A statement from the semi-official Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) said Iran's response to the attacks on its energy infrastructure "is underway and not yet complete."
