New Delhi: Oil prices rose to their highest level since January this year on Monday after the US strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran, with the country threatening to shut Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20 per cent of global crude supply flows.

Brent crude futures was up $1.92 or 2.49 per cent at $78.93 a barrel early on Monday. US West Texas Intermediate crude increased $1.89 or 2.56 per cent to $75.73.Brent crude prices surged as much as 5 per cent. However, prices could not sustain at those levels and pared the early advance almost immediately.

Even though the possibility of the closure of Hormuz Strait is a threat, it is important to understand that this has always been only a threat and the Strait had never been closed.

Meanwhile, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, has allayed fears over any disruption in oil supplies to Indian consumers due to the Israel-Iran war and further escalation in geopolitical tensions in the Middle East because of US bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites.

He pointed out that the country’s oil marketing companies (Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum) have supplies for several weeks and continue to receive energy supplies from several routes.

India imports around 85 per cent of its crude oil requirement and a surge in oil prices leads to an increase in its oil import bill and pushes up the rate of inflation which hurts economic growth.