Kamal Ghorui
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he would remove “some oil sanctions” to reduce the soaring prices as the crude cost hit $100 a barrel amid Iran war.“We’re also waiving certain oil-related sanctions to reduce prices,” he said addressing reporters. “We’re going to take those sanctions off till this straightens out,” he added.Moreover, he threatened a larger attack on Iran if it blocked oil supplies, whose prices have spiked over the Middle East war.“I will not allow a terrorist regime to hold the world hostage and attempt to stop the globe’s oil supply. And if Iran does anything to do that, they’ll get hit at a much, much harder level,” he said.Trump has been facing mounting pressure to rein in oil prices that have surged due to the war with Iran, but he has limited options to address a problem that is rattling the global economy and carrying political risks at home.He has argued the spike will be a “short-term” issue that will ease once the war ends, though rising gasoline prices are already affecting voters ahead of the US midterm elections later this year, where the state of the economy is expected to play a major role.The surge in oil prices has been largely driven by the near standstill in maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial Gulf waterway that carries about a fifth of the world’s crude — since the war began on February 28.Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, briefly climbed above $100 per barrel for the first time in about four years before easing slightly below that level.
