Following a fresh flare-up between the US and Iran amidst a fragile ‘ceasefire’, oil prices have witnessed a sharp spike. Amid a fresh round of strikes and Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the price of Brent Crude surged 3% to above $78 a barrel after gaining 5.4% last week.
Similarly, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was recorded close to $74. European natural gas prices also advanced by as much as 2.7%.
On 12th July, US forces launched a fresh attack on Iranian targets as the two sides continue to clash over the Strait of Hormuz. United States Central Command (CENTCOM) conveyed that it targeted “dozens of targets at multiple locations with precision munitions to degrade Iran’s ability to continue attacking international shipping” passing through the critical passage.
While the US CENTCOM claims that the Strait of Hormuz is “open to all vessels seeking to lawfully transit”, the Iranian IRGC has claimed that they have closed the Strait “until further notice and until the end of American interventions in this region”.
As per a Kpler analysis, only 14 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday. Before the war, around 130 vessels passed through the strait.
“Confirmed Strait of Hormuz crossings declined by around 52% week on week over 10 to 12 July, with traffic reverting to more defensive routing patterns. Renewed US-Iran tensions and IRGC warnings continue to drive heightened caution across commercial shipping,” Kpler stated.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has said on Monday that the US would “take over” the Strait of Hormuz, and secure its ‘guardianship’. “We’re going to keep the strait, and we’ll probably run it. We’ll become the guardian of the strait. ‘Maybe we’ll call it the guardian angel of the strait. And we should be reimbursed for that,” Trump said during a Fox News program.
