Overview
- Brent briefly approached $120 and WTI neared $119 in early trade before easing to roughly $105–$109, capping intraday jumps of about 15%–20% after last week’s outsized rally.
- Tanker movements through the Strait of Hormuz have largely halted, stranding millions of barrels and driving up war‑risk costs, which has curtailed exports and filled Gulf storage.
- Iraq’s southern output has fallen about 70% to near 1.3 million bpd, Kuwait cut production and declared force majeure, and incidents struck Bahrain’s BAPCO and the UAE’s Fujairah as Saudi defenses intercepted a drone near Shaybah.
- Asian equities tumbled and Western futures pointed lower as traders priced a renewed inflation shock that could delay rate cuts and pressure growth-sensitive sectors.
- G7 and IEA officials planned talks on a coordinated reserves release as Saudi Aramco offered prompt cargoes, the U.S. set up up to $20 billion in maritime reinsurance, and President Trump downplayed the spike’s duration while Iran installed Mojtaba Khamenei as supreme leader.