Brent crude jumped almost 7% on Thursday to top $126 a barrel at one point — the highest level since 2022 — after a report that US Central Command has prepared a fresh package of military options for President Donald Trump to consider against Iran.
According to Axios, CENTCOM commanders have drafted a plan for a wave of “short and powerful” strikes on Iranian targets aimed at breaking the deadlock in stalled negotiations with Tehran. The BBC said it had contacted CENTCOM and the White House for comment.
Prices later eased from the intra-day peak but remained at multi-year highs as traders priced in the rising probability of US military action on top of an already-active naval blockade. Energy markets have rallied through the week as peace talks appear to have stalled and the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed.
About 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically transits the Hormuz waterway, and the Iran war has driven global energy prices sharply higher since the blockade began. Crude is the principal feedstock for petrol and diesel, and the price spike has flowed through to pump prices across importing economies.
The new high builds on the $120-$122 range reached earlier this week after Washington signalled it would extend the naval blockade of Iranian ports. For Sri Lanka — already absorbing a 74.7% year-on-year jump in fuel import bills in March — a sustained move toward $130 would deepen pressure on the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation’s procurement costs and on the rupee.
Sources: Ada Derana.
