Fears of fuel shortages in Ireland as army called in to tackle blockades - business live

While headline oil prices ease, a key European benchmark hits a 15-year high, exposing a fragile physical market and persistent supply fears. | Contesto: cronaca

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• Fears of fuel shortages in Ireland as army called in to tackle blockades - business live

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While a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East has kept the global benchmark oil price below $100 a barrel this week, a critical measure of physical crude in Europe has surged to its highest level since 2008, exposing severe underlying strains in energy markets. The price for Forties blend crude from the North Sea, a key grade used to set prices for much of the world's oil, reached nearly $147 a barrel on Thursday, according to data from LSEG. This dramatic spike, driven by intense competition among global refineries for immediate cargoes, starkly contradicts the relative calm in financial markets and signals that the threat of supply disruptions remains acute. The divergence between the headline Brent crude price and the physical Forties market underscores a complex and fractured energy landscape. The tentative two-week pause in Middle Eastern hostilities has provided a psychological reprieve for investors, easing the pressure on risk assets like stocks. Major indices, including London's FTSE 100, steadied on Friday, with U.S. markets expected to follow a similar pattern. The prospect of direct diplomatic talks between the United States and Iran over the weekend has further bolstered sentiment, fostering a cautious belief that the broader trajectory is moving away from immediate escalation. However, the surge in the Forties price reveals that this diplomatic optimism has done little to alleviate tangible concerns over securing actual barrels of oil. The Forties blend is a primary component of the Brent crude basket, the world's most traded oil benchmark, and its price is a direct reflection of real-world supply and demand for immediate delivery in Northwest Europe. The scramble for these cargoes suggests refineries are actively building inventories or securing supply lines amid deep uncertainty, fearing that the current ceasefire may not hold or that other logistical or geopolitical snarls could emerge. This tension in the physical market has direct and worrying implications for energy security, particularly for nations reliant on imported crude and refined products. The situation has already triggered alarm in Ireland, where fears of fuel shortages have...

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Categoria: cronaca