Concerns have persisted among Nigerians that they might have to pay more to buy Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as fuel after crude oil price hit $100 per barrel again.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that the crude oil price hit $100 per barrel shortly after the first official address by Iran’s newly appointed Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who struck a defiant tone regarding the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the control of the Strait of Hormuz.
The address was broadcast across Iranian state media on Thursday, March 12, 2026.
Khamenei vowed to maintain a “virtual chokehold” on global shipping lanes, specifically calling for the continued blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery through which approximately 20% of the world’s petroleum liquids transit.
“The lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must definitely be used,” Khamenei said in a message read by an anchor on state television.
Following the development, the price of crude oil rose to above $100 per barrel.
The development comes as Nigerians were optimistic about fuel prices coming down after global oil prices dropped on Wednesday to $90.
Both Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC, Limited, had announced petrol price reduction on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Nigerians had hoped the price would drop further, but with the rise in crude oil price in the international market, such expectations may be short-lived.
Checks by Pan-Atlantic Kompass revealed that as of press time, petrol price remains high at N1,200 per litre and above across the country.
It was gathered that in Lagos State depot owners sell fuel at prices ranging between N1,200, N1,180, N1,175, and N1,200 per litre.
Meanwhile, United States Donald Trump has reacted after facing intense political pressure as the global economic fallout of the crisis has mounted.
The U.S president pushed back the criticism, maintaining that the country “is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money”.
“BUT, of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is stopping an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the World.”
