Overview
- Global benchmarks jumped, with West Texas Intermediate near $105 and Brent about $126, after shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for seaborne oil, was disrupted.
- Yahoo Finance reports the United States and Iran have each curbed flows to gain leverage, with Iran disrupting traffic in the strait and the U.S. blockading Iranian ports.
- Producers in the United States and other regions outside the Persian Gulf are raising output, and the administration says it is talking with oil companies to add more supply.
- Investors are favoring U.S.-focused producers, with Diamondback Energy and Devon Energy up about 40% this year and trading near 10 times expected earnings.
- Experts cited by Yahoo Finance warn prices could climb toward $150 if the strait stays shut, and the market is drawing an estimated 11 million to 12 million barrels a day from storage that cannot continue indefinitely.