Recent Iraq crisis has major impact with militants capturing major crude producer’s refinery and grabbing hold over its territories. Oil prices have shooted up globally with this crisis. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for July rose 35 cents to USD 106.32 while Brent crude for August gained nine cents to USD 114.35 in late-morning trade.WTI has jumped by more than USD 2.0 a barrel and Brent by over USD 4.0 since the escalation of the attack by extremists groups.”The escalation of the crisis in Iraq led to a sharp spike in crude prices,” Experts associated with the trade predict that limited spare capacity due to drying up of supplies from Libya, any further escalation of the crises in the region can lead to a sharp spike in benchmark prices.
Sunni militants led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) yesterday launched an assault on the Baiji oil refinery – Iraq’s biggest – spooking international oil markets.Officials say security forces retain control of the refinery, but clashes are ongoing.
