Crude oil prices surpass $100 a barrel

Crude oil prices have crossed $100 per barrel as some major producers cut supplies, and fears of prolonged shipping disruptions gripped the market due to the expanding US-Israeli war with Iran.

The oil prices crossed the mark for the first time since the early months of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with no signs of slowing down in what has been the fastest oil rally since the 1980s, according to global media reports.

Brent crude futures were up $15.51, ‌or 16.7 per cent, at $108.20 per barrel at 0642 GMT - on track for the biggest-ever jump in a single day, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up $14.23, or 15.7 per cent, at $105.13, reports Reuters.

Disruptions in tanker movements and rising security risks have already slowed shipping activity, and left Asian buyers reliant on Middle Eastern crude especially vulnerable because the crisis is unfolding around the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil supply passes.

WTI surged 31.4 per cent ​to a session high of $119.48 a barrel earlier on Monday, while Brent rose as much as 29 per cent to $119.50 a barrel. Before the surge on Monday, Brent had already climbed ​27 per cent and WTI by 35.6 per cent last week.