Ron Bousso

[upbeat jingle] Brent crude has surged to more than 108 US dollars a barrel overnight due to increased tension in the Middle East and the closure of a critical pipeline in Saudi Arabia.

My next guest warns, uh, quote, "Oil markets have survived the Iran war sprint, but now comes the marathon." Ron Bousso is an energy columnist at Reuters.

I spoke to him a short time ago.

Ron, why are we seeing oil prices surge right now? Is this, uh, reflecting the closure of Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline?

The United States has managed to operate a route that, uh, goes along the Omani coast to transport ships, particularly tankers, in and out, and that is proving increasingly effective.

But we're, at the moment, we're talking about half of the pre-war level.

Ron Bousso, thank you very much, uh, for joining me again.

Thank you.

Review the disclosures and disclaimers at cboe.com/us_disclaimers.

[soft music] For today's recommended read, check out Ron Bousso's column on how the Iran war is no longer a sprint but a marathon for oil markets.

The link is in the show notes.

And for more of any of today's stories, head to reuters.com or the Reuters app.