Brent Hits $81 Per Barrel as Israel Rejects Ceasefire

By Adedapo Adesanya

The price of international crude benchmark, Brent Crude, increased by 3 per cent or $2.42 on Thursday to sell at $81.36 per barrel amid concerns of a broadening conflict in the Middle East after Israel rejected a ceasefire offer from Hamas.

Also, the price of the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed by 3.2 per cent or $2.36 to $76.22 per barrel as the Prime Minister of Israel, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, vowed to fight on, saying victory was in reach and just months away.

Mr Netanyahu said on Wednesday that the terms proposed by Hamas for a ceasefire in the four-month-old war were “delusional”.

Israeli forces bombed areas in the southern border city of Rafah on Thursday where more than half of Gaza’s population is sheltering.

Meanwhile, diplomats continue to find ways to salvage ceasefire talks after the Israeli PM renewed the pledge to destroy the Islamist movement, saying there was no alternative for Israel but to bring about its collapse.

“The day after is the day after Hamas. All of Hamas,” he told a press conference, insisting that total victory against Hamas was the only solution to the Gaza war, which began on October 7, 2023.

Also, attacks on shipping by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels continued to disrupt global oil trading.

Demand growth remains healthy in large oil-consuming nations, including India and the US with jobless claims in the US falling slightly more than expected last week.

Worries came as the market faced more supply after Russia, a member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) said damage to refineries from Ukraine’s drone attacks and technical outages led to more crude exports than planned in February.

This potentially undermines the country’s pledge to cut supplies under the OPEC+ supply cut pact, according to market analysts.

In a related development, Norway’s Johan Sverdrup oilfield – the largest in the North Sea – will maintain steady production at a higher rate of 755,000 barrels per day for the rest of this year. This is more than the original planned capacity was 660,000 barrels per day.