Brent crude price soars to $79 per barrel on Friday, January 12 2024, an increase of 2. 3 percent.
Gatekeepers News reports that Brent was trading $79.22 per barrel as of 01:54 GMT+1.
Experts observed that the increase in prices of Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmarks occurred due the United States and Britain carried out strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen in retaliation for attacks by the Iran-backed group on shipping in the Red Sea starting from late last year.
According to Reuters, the recent U.S. and British airstrikes represent a significant and dramatic escalation in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in the Middle East, which began in October. Reports from Yemen indicate widespread explosions throughout the country.
U.S. President Joe Biden said the “targeted strikes” were a clear message that the United States and its partners will not tolerate attacks on its personnel or “allow hostile actors to imperil freedom of navigation”.
Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands supported the operation, he said.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg’s recent survey revealed that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) crude oil production maintained a steady production of crude oil with an average of 28.05 million bpd in December 2023 with Nigeria boosting output by an extra 50,000 bpd.
OPEC+ sustained supply restraints from countries like the United Arab Emirates and Angola cutting back on production. However, other countries like Nigeria compensated for the reduction.
The latest data published by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) shows that the country’s daily oil production stands at 1.25 million barrels, with the information conveyed through its “direct communication” channels.
