Brent posted its largest single-day gain since July as the US and Iran traded strikes, with Iran claiming US casualties at a Kuwait base.
Brent crude, the global oil price benchmark, rose by more than 5 per cent on Tuesday to close around $95.36 a barrel, its highest level since 24 July.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also surged nearly 6 per cent to close around $90.86 a barrel, its highest since 23 July. Both benchmarks extended their gains into Wednesday trading, with Brent briefly touching $95.68.
Why oil prices are surging
According to Reuters, the price surge came as traders feared further supply disruptions from the Middle East following renewed direct strikes between the US and Iran, ending roughly a month of relative calm in the conflict.
On Tuesday, the US military launched fresh airstrikes on Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz, which President Donald Trump said were retaliation for Iranian attempts to lay mines in the strategic waterway and for an earlier Iranian missile attack on a US base in Jordan.
Trump described the strikes as “large and powerful” and warned of a further, larger response, saying “there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran” should Tehran retaliate again.
Iran responded with missile and drone attacks targeting US bases across the region. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed on Wednesday that US personnel were killed and drones destroyed in a strike on the headquarters of the US commander at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, saying the attack was carried out simultaneously with strikes on US bases in Jordan, Bahrain and Erbil. Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain sounded air raid alerts and reported intercepting incoming missiles on Wednesday morning. TDC could not independently verify Iran’s casualty claim as of filing.
Strait of Hormuz disruption deepens
Vessel crossings through the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of global oil supply passes, dropped sharply, from 23 crossings the previous Wednesday to just 10 on Monday, according to reporting cited by The National.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iran’s economy was in an “acceleration phase” of collapse, while separately noting that 17 million barrels of crude still passed through Hormuz on Monday, arguing this showed Tehran did not have effective control of the waterway.
The American Petroleum Institute estimated that US commercial crude inventories fell by 2.6 million barrels last week, further supporting prices.
Impact on Nigeria’s fuel prices
In Nigeria, rising international oil prices have already filtered into the downstream sector, with petrol prices climbing above N1,300 per litre in recent days. Nigeria, as a major crude exporter but import-dependent on refined products in parts of the country, remains exposed on both sides of a prolonged price spike, higher potential export earnings from crude sales, but continued pressure on pump prices and inflation domestically.
This is a rapidly evolving international story; TDC will update figures and developments as the situation unfolds.
