Jamaica Braces For Impact As US-Iran Tension Pushes Up Oil Prices

Global oil prices have surged following the US killing of senior Iranian and Iraqi military leaders in an airstrike near the Baghdad airport.-and – there are concerns that the escalating conflict might disrupt oil supplies. This comes almost four months after a drone attack on the world’s largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia, which had disrupted the world’s energy infrastructure, cutting production by half, and leading to a spike in oil prices internationally.

At the time, the US had blamed Iran for attacking the refinery, an act which Yemen’s Houthi rebels later claimed responsibility for. Now, oil prices have surged again…along with US-Iran tension made gorey by the threats of war.

Locally, in Jamaica, Gasolene Retailers Association is urging motorists to brace themselves as they anticipate some form of impact.
“Normally, there is a delay because of Petrojam power but we will eventually see an increase and the dealers and their customers will be affected,” President of the Jamaica Gasolene Retailers Association, JGRA, Gregory Chung noted.

While referring to Jamaica’s lack of a strategic petroleum reserve, president of the JGRA, Gregory Chung says there will be increasing inventory costs.

“Whatever buffer we can have is not going to be very long. It is going to be short-lived and the prices are eventually gonna be passed on to the retailers and the consumers,” he noted.