Overview
- Brent and WTI jumped more than 15%–20%, with Brent near $108–111 and intraday highs close to $119, marking the sharpest single-day surge since mid‑2022.
- Tanker movements through the Strait of Hormuz have largely stopped, constraining roughly one‑fifth of global seaborne oil flows.
- Iraq’s southern production reportedly fell about 70% to 1.3 million barrels per day as exports stalled, while Kuwait cut output and declared force majeure as storage hit capacity.
- Asian equities sank on the oil shock, with South Korea’s KOSPI dropping more than 6% and triggering a trading halt, as US equity futures also fell.
- G7 finance ministers and the IEA are set to discuss a coordinated release of strategic reserves, Saudi Aramco offered prompt crude via rare tenders, and President Trump and his energy secretary said the price spike should be short‑lived.