Goldman Sachs warned that oil prices could reach 120 dollars per barrel if attacks on ships in the Middle East continue to worsen. The bank also predicts that Brent could reach 80 dollars per barrel if exports in the region return to normal. The institution recommends investing in natural gas and diesel as a way for investors to accumulate new gains.
Over the weekend of September 5 and 6, at least three attacks on Iranian ships by the United States were reported. In response, the Iranians attacked three ships linked to Americans and three more oil tankers sailing through the Strait of Hormuz on a route they consider "unauthorized". According to US Central Command, the Iranian ships attacked were part of a "multi-million dollar shadow fleet" that financed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Following the attacks, Iran admitted to creating a "no-fly zone" in the Strait of Hormuz "in the coming days". The secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaï, stated that this zone will start at the "US Navy's blockade line" and will include sectors of the Gulf, threatening that any ship entering the new zone will be "placed on a sanctions list".
This Monday, September 7, Brent already exceeded 95 dollars per barrel while crude was trading above 91 dollars. The co-head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs, Daan Struyven, considered that China could be "a stabilizing force" in the oil market, with the restriction of imports of the raw material in the face of rising prices.
