Oct 11 (Lagos) - Crude oil prices spiked 2% before cooling off a bit after an Iranian oil tanker caught fire near the coast of Saudi Arabia. There was an explosion according to reports and crude oil leaked in the red sea just 60 km from the Saudi port city of Jeddah. This is less than month since Saudi's largest oil processing facility came under drone attack which was claimed by rebels in Yemen.
Brent crude futures rose as much as 2.3% to $60.46 a barrel initially and were just above $60 a barrel in London.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose as much as 2.1% to $54.69 a barrel and were at $54.47 per barrel but have cooled a bit since the news broke.
There is more tension in the middle east as Turkey has invaded Syria just as the US receded. US President is coming under increased criticism for his move to abandon US allies in the region. This situation is very volatile and any escalation of wrong move could lead to a more precarious scenario for crude oil markets.
reporting for easykobo.com on Friday, Oct 11 2019 from Lagos, Nigeria