Oil prices were up in Tuesday’s Asian trading as protests against Iran’s government continued into a third week.
Brent crude prices had risen 0.3% to US$64.07 per barrel by 2:30 pm AEDT (3:30 am GMT). West Texas Intermediate climbed 0.4% to $59.71.
At least 646 people have been killed during 16 days of anti-government protests in Iran, including 505 protesters, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Iran’s Government has imposed an internet blackout on the country, which has now lasted more than 100 hours.
The U.S. is reportedly considering options including aerial strikes and cyberattacks against Iranian military targets. Iran's Government has said that it could target U.S. and Israeli military and logistics installations if the U.S. launches a strike.
U.S. President Donald Trump also said today that countries trading with Iran would face a 25% tariff rate.
Iran, a founding member of OPEC+, represents around 3% of global oil supply. It is the bloc’s fourth-largest oil producer, with an output of about 3.3 million barrels per day.
Most of Iran’s oil output is exported to China, which already faces 20% tariffs. India, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates are also among Iran’s main trading partners.
“Unrest in Iran has added about $3-4/barrel in geopolitical risk premium in oil prices, in our view,” wrote Barclays analysts.
Trump has threatened to block ExxonMobil from investing in Venezuela after its CEO Darren Woods called the country “uninvestable”, meanwhile. Trump had urged executives from oil majors to invest $100 billion into Venezuela’s oil industry at a White House roundtable last week.
Woods told U.S. officials that the company could not invest in Venezuela without safety guarantees and significant changes to the country’s legal policies. ExxonMobil’s previous assets in Venezuela were seized by the country’s government when it nationalised the oil industry two decades ago.
