North Sea oil price rises to record high amid tension over ceasefire

North Sea oil prices have risen to a new record high as traders rush to secure supplies.

It came as US President Donald Trump accused Iran of not abiding by a ceasefire agreement to immediately open the Strait of Hormuz.

Forties Blend, the marker used for cargoes of oil produced off the coast of the UK, rose to almost $147 (€125.79) a barrel late on Thursday.

It surpassed the previous high reached during the 2008 financial crisis, according to data from LSEG.

The price of oil from the North Sea has soared since the start of the conflict in the Middle East and is up from around $60 a barrel at the start of the year.

The jump has been driven by a scramble to secure physical shipments of oil in Europe.

This price is significantly higher than Brent crude oil, which ticked slightly higher amid tension over the ceasefire deal agreed earlier this week.

On Friday morning, Brent was up by 1.9% to $97.79 a barrel.

It had dipped as low as about $90 a barrel on Wednesday following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran.

The ceasefire had been conditional on the reopening of the Strait, but Mr Trump has raised concerns the key trade artery is still being blocked.

The US president posted on his Truth Social platform: “There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait – They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”

He added in a separate post: “Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz. That is not the agreement we have!”

In the financial markets, London’s FTSE 100 was 0.17% higher at 10,621.05 points on Friday morning.

In Europe, the French Cac 40 and German Dax were both higher, up 0.29% and 0.23% respectively in early trading.

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Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: “Despite the oil price ticking marginally higher, the oil majors slipped and, given their size, this weighed on the FTSE 100 at the open.

“The index was largely flat, with the downward pressure offset by some selective buying among the housebuilders, who have enjoyed a positive week following the likelihood of monetary tightening increasingly off the table.

“Retailers also found some friends after what has been a challenging few months, although the gains were far from spectacular.”