Overview
- Brent and WTI vaulted 15%–20% in early trading, briefly nearing $119, before paring gains that still left prices at mid‑2022 highs and global equities sharply lower.
- Tanker movements through the Strait of Hormuz have largely halted, stranding significant volumes and forcing producers to throttle output as storage fills.
- Iraq’s southern production has slumped to about 1.3 million barrels per day and Kuwait declared force majeure on shipments, with analysts warning the UAE and Saudi Arabia may also curb output.
- Governments are pursuing mitigation, including a US $20 billion maritime reinsurance facility, G7–IEA talks on a joint emergency stock release, and rare prompt‑supply tenders from Saudi Aramco.
- President Donald Trump and the US energy secretary characterized the spike as short‑lived, even as Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei as supreme leader and attacks and facility disruptions from Bahrain to Fujairah fueled supply risk.