Oil prices surged to their highest level in a month Tuesday as hostilities between the United States and Iran entered a third day, raising fears over stability in the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 2 per cent to $84.91 a barrel for September delivery at 03:30 GMT, extending Monday’s 9.6 per cent jump and marking its highest level since 15 June, reports Al Jazeera.
Prices have climbed about 17 per cent from pre‑conflict levels, reversing declines that followed last month’s US‑Iran memorandum of understanding for peace.
US Central Command said Monday’s strikes targeted Iran’s ability to attack “innocent civilians and commercial shipping” in the strait.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed retaliation, saying it hit two oil supertankers in Hormuz and launched missile and drone strikes on US military assets in Kuwait and Bahrain.
Adding to volatility, President Donald Trump announced Washington would reimpose a blockade of Iranian ports and begin charging vessels transit fees as the “guardian” of the waterway.
Analysts warned of tightening supply. “Crude oil is fast losing its strategic petroleum reserve buffer, and a violent repricing up cannot be discounted until rhetoric tones down,” June Goh of Sparta Commodities told Al Jazeera.
Shipping traffic has slumped. MarineTraffic recorded 57 vessel transits from Friday through Sunday, more than 50 percent below the prior week. Before US‑Israel strikes on Iran in late February, about 130 vessels crossed daily.
“Traffic through Hormuz is grinding to a halt, back to—or even below—our immediate pre‑MoU pace,” said Rory Johnston of Commodity Context. He cautioned that depleted stockpiles leave markets “much more vulnerable to a rerun of March and April.”
Despite Iran’s declaration Sunday that Hormuz was closed “until further notice,” the US Department of Energy said 8.5 million barrels passed through Monday with military assistance, calling flows “consistent with the recent average.”
“The US military will ensure oil flows continue, with or without the Iranians,” the department said.
Bart Melek, global head of commodity strategy at TD Securities, said prices are likely to rise further amid the resumption of US‑Iran hostilities.
