Energy

New Iran War Fears Send Oil Past $105 With Diesel Already Sky High

(Ted Gresham via Wikimedia Commons)

Oil prices jumped Thursday as President Donald Trump weighs whether to restart large-scale strikes on Iran — with diesel already sitting above $6 a gallon.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, climbed above $105 a barrel in early trading, up more than 5 percent, and the U.S. benchmark neared $93, NBC News reported. Trump has not decided whether to restart combat operations, according to people familiar with the talks who spoke to the outlet.

The Department of Energy did not provide a comment on the record to the Daily Caller News Foundation by time of publication.

Diesel futures in Europe rose 4.5 percent and heating oil futures gained more than 4 percent, according to NBC News. The 10-year Treasury yield, which affects what consumers pay to borrow, climbed to 5.35 percent, and stock futures fell, the outlet reported.

Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell to seven ships Tuesday, the fewest since July 23, after a record number of attacks on vessels, CNN reported, citing the ship-tracking firm Kpler.

European diesel futures closed 6 percent higher Wednesday after the International Energy Agency said its members would not release any oil beyond the 400 million barrels they committed to in March, according to CNN.

Diesel averaged $6.28 a gallon nationwide Thursday, up from $3.68 a year ago, and regular gasoline averaged $4.36, up from $3.12, according to American Automobile Association (AAA) data.

U.S. forces could resume strikes on Iran, The Atlantic first reported Wednesday.

Renewed strikes would break a three-month standoff between the two countries, with the midterm elections less than a month away and early voting underway, NBC News reported.

“I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate them or do I not? It’s a big decision,” Trump told Axios in September, when he said he was weighing whether to resume major combat operations.

U.S. officials told the outlet that Trump could return to major combat operations after the midterms if no deal with Iran is reached, Axios reported.