Mike Breard: Brent Crude Could Hit $140 a Barrel

“Tensions with Iran have been pushing oil prices up over $100 a barrel and it won’t take a full-blown war to send them much higher, possibly to $140 a barrel, says Mike Breard, an oil and gas analyst at Hodges Capital in Dallas.

Oil futures are skyrocketing thanks to Iranian tension, with U.S. crude futures hovering over $102 a barrel and Brent futures, which drive European markets, at around $118.

Brent and U.S. futures historically trade at a much narrower spread, and many analysts expect that gap to narrow as the U.S. economy improves.

The West has been slapping fresh sanctions on a defiant and nuclear-ambitious Iran, which is taking steps to cut off oil supply and even threatened to close down the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the world’s oil industry.

With nerves on edge and the Strait of Hormuz crawling with edgy warships and oil tankers, a messy encounter would be enough to send oil skyrocketing.

“All that has to happen is for a tanker to hit a mine and the prices will be jumping,” says Breard, according to the Christian Science Monitor.

“A lot of people are afraid of oil rising to $140 a barrel.”

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