Oil Hits $90 a Barrel as Middle East War Chokes Global Supply — and It's Not Slowing Down
The global oil crisis just got worse. A week after the US and Israel launched major strikes against Iran — sparking an all-out war that's now engulfed nearly every country in the Middle East — crude oil prices have blasted past $90 a barrel with zero signs of cooling down.
American crude settled at $90.90 on Friday — up a staggering 36 percent in just one week. Brent, the international benchmark, climbed 27 percent to $92.69. The culprit? Ships carrying roughly 20 million barrels of oil a day are stuck in the Persian Gulf, unable to safely navigate the Strait of Hormuz, which is bordered on its northern side by Iran. Key oil facilities across the region have been hit by missile and drone strikes, knocking an estimated 9 million barrels per day offline.
Kuwait announced precautionary production cuts on Saturday, while Iran retaliated with strikes on a major Saudi refinery and a liquefied natural gas facility in Qatar — wiping out roughly 20 percent of the world's LNG supply. Diesel prices doubled across Europe, and jet fuel costs in Asia spiked by nearly 200 percent. Analysts are calling it an "extreme deficit" situation.
For Filipinos, the pain is already being felt at the pump. Gas prices have been climbing steadily, which prompted President Marcos to implement a four-day government work week starting today and consider emergency powers to slash fuel excise taxes. US gas prices jumped 43 cents in a single week to $3.41 per gallon, with diesel at $4.51.
President Trump said the US military operations against Iran would last "four to five weeks" but has "the capability to go far longer." On Friday, he appeared to rule out talks unless Iran surrenders unconditionally. With no diplomatic offramp in sight, energy experts warn that prices will keep climbing. As one analyst put it: "The more news we get, the more it seems like this is going to last a really long time."
Source: The Manila Times
