Oil Prices Surge Amid Political Tensions and Supply Worries

Crude oil prices rose on Tuesday, driven by heightened political tensions and concerns about global supply. The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, was up 0.9 percent at $71.12 a barrel in early trading while U.S.-based West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 1 percent to $64.85 per barrel as of 9:30 am GMT (4:30 am ET).

The price increase is being attributed to rising geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran after President Donald Trump withdrew from an international nuclear deal with Tehran last week and imposed new sanctions on the country’s energy sector earlier this month. This has caused worries that Iranian exports could be disrupted or even cut off completely which would reduce global supplies significantly causing oil prices to rise accordingly.

In addition, there are also concerns about potential disruptions in other major producers, such as Venezuela, where production continues to decline due to economic turmoil and US-imposed sanctions that have crippled its economy further still. With these factors contributing towards increasing uncertainty over future supplies investors have been buying into commodities like crude oil sending their values higher across markets around the world today.