Oil Prices Ascend Amid Sound of US, Iranian Warheads
Oil prices continue to ascend amid the sound of US and Iranian warheads that continue to reverberate through the Middle East.
Brent crude price rose more than 3% on Tuesday as renewed clashes between the US and Iran heightened concerns over potential disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
International benchmark Brent crude futures for December delivery traded at $91.68 per barrel, up 3.7% from the previous close of $88.37.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for October delivery traded at $86.90 per barrel, up 1.3% from $85.76.
The gains were driven by renewed escalation in hostilities between the US and Iran and rising security risks to shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit route for global oil supplies.
US President Donald Trump said Monday that the Strait of Hormuz is in “extremely good shape,” claiming US naval assistance has helped an average of 30 ships pass through each night.
The conflicting signals have left oil markets focused on whether the latest escalation will translate into sustained disruptions to crude and fuel flows through the waterway.
Any prolonged disruption would add a significant risk premium to oil prices, given the Strait’s importance to global energy trade.
However, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said early Tuesday that a tanker had been struck by three unknown projectiles while exiting the Strait of Hormuz off Oman.
The reported incident has reinforced concerns that even if the waterway remains technically open, higher security risks could raise shipping costs, delay tanker movements and prompt some operators to avoid the route.
Such disruptions could tighten physical oil markets and push benchmark prices higher.
The incident comes amid renewed regional tensions after weekend US strikes on Iran’s Larak Island near the Strait of Hormuz, followed by Iranian retaliatory attacks on sites used by US forces in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
Trump said Monday that the US will retaliate against Iran following missile and drone attacks on American forces in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“We’re going to hit them hard. There will be a response,” Trump told Fox News.
Iran warned Monday that any site used to launch US attacks on its territory would be targeted, accusing Washington of continuing to use the territory, airspace, and facilities of regional countries to launch strikes on Iran. Oil Prices Decline as U.S. Changes Plan on How to Fight Iran
