Oil prices rose as high as $114 per barrel on Monday due to the ongoing coordinated war between the U.S. and Israel against Iran.

The latest surge, considered the highest since 2022, followed threatened oil production and supply disruptions across West Asia.

Global price benchmark Brent crude rose 23 per cent, from an official closing price of $92.69 on March 6 to $114 after trading resumed on Monday.

Similarly, the U.S. oil benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), also rose by 25 per cent from its March 6 closing price of $90.90 to about $114 per barrel.

The latest global crude price followed a 36 per cent and 28 per cent increase, which the U.S. and Brent crude prices recorded earlier in March, respectively.

Countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Kuwait, situated along the Strait of Hormuz—a major maritime route through which approximately 15 million barrels of crude oil, about 20-30 per cent of global oil trade, pass daily—have been mostly affected by the U.S.-Israel war against Iran.

Global market prices are currently rattled by reduced oil production, particularly from countries like Iraq, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, where storage tanks are reportedly full, and also a result of the targeted attacks on energy infrastructure in the region. 

In the United States, the average cost of gasoline (petrol) surged to $3.45 per gallon on Sunday, about a 47 per cent increase from the previous week, while the price of diesel rose to $4.60 per gallon, an approximate 83 per cent increase over the same period.

Similarly, petrol prices have increased above N1,000 per litre in Nigeria.