Oil Jumps as Trump Says US to Reinstate Blockade of Iranian Shipping in Hormuz
Oil prices were rising Monday as President Donald Trump said the US was reinstating a blockade of Iranian shipping in the Strait of Hormuz amid growing tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 7.4% at $76.72 a barrel in afternoon trade, while Brent gained 7.5% to $81.75. The US and Iran continued to exchange airstrikes over the weekend, with Tehran targeting American military facilities across several Middle Eastern countries, news outlets reported. Hostilities between the two countries resumed recently, weeks after they signed a memorandum of understanding to end their war. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reportedly said it closed the crucial Strait of Hormuz until further notice, though the US military disputed the claim. The narrow waterway is the world's most important chokepoint for crude flows. The strait is open and will remain so "with or without Iran," Trump said Monday. "We are reinstating the Iranian blockade, so named because it is only stopping Iran's ships or customers from entering or leaving," Trump said in a social media post. "All other countries will have fair and open use of the strait." "The USA will be, from this point.
Oil prices were rising Monday as President Donald Trump said the US was reinstating a blockade of Iranian shipping in the Strait of Hormuz amid growing tensions in the Middle East.
West Texas Intermediate crude was up 7.4% at $76.72 a barrel in afternoon trade, while Brent gained 7.5% to $81.75.
The US and Iran continued to exchange airstrikes over the weekend, with Tehran targeting American military facilities across several Middle Eastern countries, news outlets reported.
Hostilities between the two countries resumed recently, weeks after they signed a memorandum of understanding to end their war.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reportedly said it closed the crucial Strait of Hormuz until further notice, though the US military disputed the claim.
The narrow waterway is the world's most important chokepoint for crude flows.
The strait is open and will remain so "with or without Iran," Trump said Monday. "We are reinstating the Iranian blockade, so named because it is only stopping Iran's ships or customers from entering or leaving," Trump said in a social media post. "All other countries will have fair and open use of the strait." "The USA will be, from this point.