[Oil News] Oil Soars as U.S. Killing of Iran General Stirs Fear of Conflict

*영어 신문 기사 내용 중에서 새로운 단어에 대해 해석을 표기해 놓았으니, 궁금하신 내용은 댓글을 부탁드립니다. 함께 공부해 봅시다. 감사합니다.

 

(Bloomberg) -- Oil jumped toward $70 a barrel in London after a U.S. airstrike ordered by President Donald Trump killed a top Iranian general in Iraq, intensifying fears of conflict in the world’s most important crude-producing region. *) intensify 심해지다, 심화시키다.

Brent futures surged by more than 4% in busy trading on Friday to levels not seen since the attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities in September. The airstrike near Baghdad airport killed Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian general who led the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds force, according to a U.S. Defense Department statement.

While no oil installations or production were affected, targeting one of Iran’s most powerful generals ratchets up tension between Washington and Tehran, heightening fears of an armed confrontation that could pull in other countries. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed that “severe retaliation” awaits the killers of Soleimani. *) ratchet up 조금씩 증가하다/시키다. *) confrontation 대치, 대립 *) vow 맹세(하다) *) retaliation 보복

“This is a seismic event in the region,” said Jason Bordoff, a former Barack Obama administration official who now works for Columbia University. “This is how U.S.-Iran tit-for-tat spirals out of control. Iran’s response will be severe and deadly. And certainly may include escalating attacks on energy infrastructure.” *) seismic 지진의, 엄청난 *) tit-for-tat 맞대응, 보복

Brent crude for March settlement climbed as much as $2.91, or 4.4%, to $69.16 a barrel on the ICE (NYSE:ICE) Futures Europe exchange, and traded at $68.62 as of 9:59 a.m. London time. The global benchmark’s bullish options bias was the biggest since early November while the closely watched spread between the December 2020 and December 2021 contracts was at the strongest level since October 2018.

West Texas Intermediate for February delivery was 3.6% higher at $63.36 a barrel, after advancing as much as 4.4% to the highest level since May. Total aggregate volume for Brent and WTI was about 10 times the 30-day average. *) aggregate 합계, 총액

Tensions have been building between Washington and Tehran after an Iran-backed Iraqi militia stormed the American embassy in Baghdad to protest deadly U.S. airstrikes earlier this week. Concerns in the region have persisted over the past year as Saudi Arabia’s energy facilities as well as foreign tankers in and around the Persian Gulf have been the target of several attacks. The area has five of OPEC’s biggest oil producers. *) militia 민병대, 의용군 *) persist 집요하게 계속하다, 계속되다 

The U.S. and Iran are already facing off over Trump’s crippling economic campaign against Tehran and suspected Iranian reprisals. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Thursday that America was ready to deploy more force in Iraq after the attack on its embassy. *) cripple 불구로 만들다, 심각한 손상을 주다 *) reprisal 보복, 앙갚음

The attack on Soleimani rattled other markets. U.S. equity futures and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid, while most shares in Asia reversed or erased gains. Gold hit the highest in four months as investors sought safe haven assets. *) rattle 덜컹거리다, 달가닥 거리다 *) equity 자기 자본, 보통주

The strike also escalates an already tense three-way situation between the U.S. and major oil producers Iran and Iraq. The two Middle East countries combined pumped more than 6.7 million barrels a day of oil last month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, more than one-fifth of OPEC output.

Energy exports from both countries also rely on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow and crucial oil and natural gas shipping choke-point that’s always in focus when Middle East tensions flair, particularly with Iran.

“This is more than just bloodying Iran’s nose,” Stephen Innes, chief market strategist at AxiTrader Ltd. said in a note. “This is an aggressive show of force and an outright provocation that could trigger another Middle East war.” *) provovation 도발, 자극

Oversupply Concerns

Still, the rally could just as easily subside. While prices initially soared after the attack on Saudi Arabia’s Abqaiq processing facility in September, crude then retreated in another sign that the market’s psychology has shifted from fearing supply shortages to a concern with a surplus, largely because of the U.S. shale revolution. *) soar 가치 물가등이 급증하다, 치솟다 *) psychology 심리, 심리학 *) surplus 과잉, 과잉의

Furthermore, OPEC is sitting on vast amounts of spare oil-production capacity after reducing supplies for most of the past three years. Consuming countries from the U.S. to China control millions of barrels stored in strategic petroleum reserves that can be deployed to offset any shortage. *) vast 범위,크기,양 등이 어마어마한 *) consume 소모하다 *) reserve 예약하다, 비축하다, 보류하다, 비축 *) deploy 군대, 무기를 배치하다

In the biggest sign of the oil market’s transformation, the U.S. reported its first months as a net exporter of petroleum, including crude and refined oil products, late last year for the first time in roughly 75 years. In October, America exported a net 389,000 barrels a day, compared with net imports of close to 9 million barrels a day a decade or so earlier. *) exporter 수출업자/회사/국가