WTI Crude Touches 93 Dollars, Six-Week High on Middle East Supply Fears
# crude oil# WTI# Middle East# Japan import prices
Key Points
- WTI futures briefly hit the $93 range on July 23
- Middle East escalation revives supply-disruption pricing
- Oil and weak yen together squeeze Japan's import bill
Analysis
WTI crude futures briefly topped $93 a barrel on July 23, a roughly six-week high, as worsening Middle East conditions forced markets to reprice supply-disruption risk. For Japan, which imports nearly all its crude, every leg higher feeds straight into import prices—doubly painful with the yen near a 39-year low around 164 per dollar. The 'expensive oil, weak yen' squeeze is the engine of the current yen-selling logic, and it inflates the cost of the government's gasoline subsidy holding pump prices at 170 yen. Watch the battle around the $90 line: the longer oil holds above it, the greater the pressure on Japanese inflation and policy.