Iran Halts Crude Shipments to Europe; Crude Prices Rising

Iran has reportedly stopped its crude oil shipments to six European countries in a preemptive strike against European sanctions against Iran that would have been put into effect in July. The six countries that have been cut off by Iran are Netherlands, Greece, France, Portugal, Spain and Italy. Of those six, three — Greece, Italy, and Spain — receive about 65% of their crude supplies from Iran.

Reaction in the crude market has been somewhat muted. On the Intercontinental Exchange, both Brent and WTI are up less than 1%, while on the Nymex, physical barrels of Brent are up about 1.2% for April delivery and 1.8% for May delivery.