Global energy markets lurched into the danger zone on Thursday as international oil prices crossed $116 a barrel, just hours after natural gas prices in the European Union surged to their highest level since 2022.
Brent crude was trading at $116.2 per barrel at the time of press, up 2.7 percent or $3.06. West Texas Intermediate followed suit, climbing 3.13 percent — a $3.11 gain — to $102.6 a barrel. Even the UAE crude grade that Pakistan used in this year’s crude oil imports jumped 3.81 percent, or $4.2, to $114.2 per barrel.
The rally in crude came on the heels of the European natural gas spike, and together the two moves signal an energy market under serious strain. For Pakistan, the timing could hardly be worse: the country is importing fuel at a moment when every major benchmark is pushing higher, and the cost is ultimately borne by consumers.
The pressure is expected to flow straight through to the pump. The new daily fuel pricing mechanism is widely expected to reflect the oil bulls in the coming sessions, meaning Pakistani motorists and transporters could see price revisions that track the international surge almost in real time.
The $116 level is more than a psychological marker. With Brent up nearly three percent in a single move and WTI breaking past $102, traders are pricing in tight supply and persistent demand — a combination that has historically been slow to unwind once it takes hold.
Background: oil benchmarks have been volatile through the year, but the European gas surge to its highest since 2022 adds a new layer of risk, because gas and crude prices feed off each other’s momentum in power generation and industrial use. Pakistan, which leans on imported crude and LNG, sits directly in the path of that combined shock.
What happens next will depend on whether the rally holds. If crude stays elevated through the coming sessions, the daily pricing mechanism will pass the burden on to domestic fuel prices, squeezing household budgets and transport costs — and piling fresh pressure on an economy already navigating inflation.
