Oil prices climbed steeply on Friday after President Donald Trump threatened Iran by saying an “armada” was moving to a position from which it could carry out a strike on the Islamic Republic.
Brent crude futures for March rose $1.53, or 2.3%, to $65.59 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up $1.46, or 2.4%, at $60.82 per barrel.
On his way back from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said the United States has several ships heading toward Iran but that he hoped they would not need to be used. Tensions have risen between the two countries over a severe crackdown on protests in Iran.
“We have a lot of ships going that direction, just in case. … I’d rather not see anything happen, but we’re watching them very closely,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Trump has consistently threatened Iran with U.S. intervention, depending on the treatment of protesters nationwide. The president claimed that Iran stopped the execution of about 840 people after his previous threats.
“I said, ‘If you hang those people, you’re going to be hit harder than you’ve ever been hit,'” Trump said. “’It’ll make what we did to your Iran nuclear look like peanuts.’ An hour before this horrible thing was going to take place, they canceled it.”
He added, “We have an armada … heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it.”
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told the Washington Examiner via email that, regarding the situation in Iran, he does not expect any impact on gas prices, but “obviously this is a situation that continues to warrant following.”
Iran is the sixth-largest oil producer in the world, accounting for nearly 4% of global crude and producing about 3.2 million barrels of oil per day.
Oil prices dropped about 2% on Thursday after Trump reversed his tariff threats against European countries for resisting his effort to gain possession of Greenland.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CANCELS $30 BILLION IN GREEN ENERGY LOANS FINALIZED UNDER BIDEN
The president said he had reached a deal with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, which included mineral rights — a strategic resource the U.S. has sought to bolster to reduce reliance on China.
“They’re going to be involved in the Golden Dome, and they’re going to be involved in mineral rights, and so are we,” Trump said. He added that the deal would last “forever.”
