Oil prices rise to two-month high amid escalation in Iran

Oil prices continued to rise on Tuesday, January 13, due to the escalation of the situation around Iran. Brent futures rose to $65.15 a barrel, remaining near a two-month high. US WTI rose to $60.77 as of 11:30. About this reports Reuters.

The main driver of the growth was concerns about possible disruptions to Iranian oil supplies. The country has faced its largest anti-government protests in recent years.

According to Reuters, Trump is set to meet with senior advisers to discuss options for action on Iran. On Monday, the US president said that any country doing business with Iran would face a 25% tariff on trade with the US. Much of Iran's oil goes to China.

"The price increase comes amid intensifying protests in Iran, raising the possibility of some form of US intervention," ING commodity strategists said.

At the same time, they noted that the US is unlikely to want to escalate relations with China again with additional tariffs after a trade truce between the countries is reached.

"In our view, the unrest in Iran has added approximately $3-$4 per barrel of geopolitical premium to oil prices," the British bank Barclays said in a note.

• On December 16, the price of Brent oil fell for the first time since May 2025 fell below the psychological mark $60 per barrel. An additional factor was the revival of hopes for agreements to end Russia's war against Ukraine.
• Goldman Sachs predicted that oil prices would likely will decrease this year due to a surge in supply, which creates a surplus on the global market.