Overview
- Iraq has slashed crude output by roughly 60% to about 1.7–1.8 million barrels per day because tanker shortages and fast‑filling storage are blocking exports.
- Kuwait’s state producer confirmed precautionary reductions in production and processing, citing threats to safe passage through Hormuz, with volumes unspecified and subject to review.
- Brent futures jumped $29.96, or 27%, to $117.65 a barrel and WTI rose $25.72, or 28.3%, to $116.62, with both briefly nearing $119 in their biggest single‑day surge in years.
- Qatar has declared force majeure on LNG exports as tanker traffic slows through a strait that normally carries about one‑fifth of seaborne oil, and analysts expect the UAE and Saudi Arabia could curb output next.
- Market fallout includes steep losses in Asian equities, a rise in U.S. gasoline prices of about 16% since the conflict began, and warnings from J.P. Morgan of up to 4.7 million barrels per day at risk if the closure persists.