Oil jumps 4% as Hormuz threat deepens
Brent climbed to $79.11 after renewed US and Iranian strikes raised fresh doubts over energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
Mateo Fernandez ·
Oil prices surged more than 4% on Monday after US and Iranian officials announced renewed military strikes, putting energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz back under pressure. Brent crude futures rose $3.10, or 4.08%, to $79.11 by 0325 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate climbed $2.95, or 4.11%, to $74.36 a barrel.
Hormuz flows hit five-week low
US officials said forces completed another wave of strikes against Iran on Monday, with Centcom saying it hit dozens of targets at multiple locations with precision munitions. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they attacked US military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz was open to commercial traffic. Iran earlier said it had closed the strait after a vessel travelled on an unapproved route and was struck.
Data from Kpler showed six vessels transited the strait on Sunday, the lowest number in five weeks. Before the war began at the end of February, about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas moved through the waterway.
The attacks also cloud an interim US-Iranian agreement signed last month that sought to reopen the strait and end the war after another 60 days of talks. The International Energy Agency said global oil supply rose by 4.1 million barrels per day in June after the agreement, but remained 9.4 million bpd below pre-war levels.
Traders will watch vessel counts, military statements and crude futures through Tuesday, July 14, for signs that the flare-up is disrupting physical cargoes rather than only repricing geopolitical risk.