Israel plans to limit its retaliatory strikes in Iran to military targets and does not plan to hit the Islamic Republic’s oil industry or its nuclear facilities, three senior Biden administration officials told NBC News. Oil prices spiked earlier this month after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack against Israel, raising fears that Israel’s response could lead to a cycle of further escalation that disrupts crude supplies in the region.
Gasoline November contract: $2.0377 per gallon, down 3.36%. Year to date, gasoline has pulled back about 3%. Natural Gas November contract: $2.498 per thousand cubic feet, up 0.16%. Year to date, gas has is marginally lower. Oil prices have pulled back significantly from the highs reached on Iran’s Oct. 1 attack. Israel has refrained from hitting back so far, and traders have shifted focus to market fundamentals as a looming oil surplus is expected next year.
cut its 2024 oil forecast for the third consecutive month in a row this week. And the International Energy Agency expects demand to grow by just under 900,000 barrels per day in 2024 and 1 million bpd in 2025, a significant slowdown compared with growth of 2 million bpd in the post-pandemic period. Chinese oil demand is particularly weak, with consumption dropping by 500,000 bpd in August, the fourth monthly decline in a row, according to an IEA report published Tuesday.
also has millions of barrels per day in spare capacity that could jump into the breach if there is a supply disruption. But Saudi Arabia may not act immediately, Croft said. “The Saudis will be in a very cautious mode about bringing barrels back If there is some type of escalation,” she said. “They will want to see that there is a physical supply disruption before they really jump in front of this.