Overview
- Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively choked off, with threats to shipping and attacks on energy sites curbing exports from Gulf producers.
- Brent briefly approached $120 a barrel before easing to roughly $100–$107, while U.S. benchmark prices also pulled back yet remained above $100.
- Governments scrambled for responses as G7 and IEA talks discussed but did not approve a coordinated reserve release, and South Korea moved to cap domestic fuel prices.
- Energy infrastructure has been hit on multiple fronts, with Israeli strikes on Iranian oil depots and reported Iranian attacks on facilities in Qatar and Bahrain leading to production halts and force majeure declarations.
- Global markets slid on the price shock, with Japan’s Nikkei down 5.2%, South Korea’s Kospi off 6% after a brief halt, European indexes lower, and U.S. gasoline averages climbing to about $3.46 a gallon as UK forecourts reported rising prices and some queues.