Attacks on Hormuz, oil prices rise again - Renewed US-Iran hostilities send markets into panic
Oil prices rose about 1% on Friday after fresh fighting erupted between the US and Iran, threatening a ceasefire and dashing hopes for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit route for oil and liquefied natural gas.
Brent crude futures rose $1.20, or 1.2%, to $101.26 a barrel. U.S. crude futures rose 85 cents, or 0.9%, to $95.66 a barrel. The benchmark rose more than 3% at the open. That ended a three-day decline after reports this week that the U.S. and Iran were close to reaching a peace deal that would end the fighting.
"The market is on the verge of complete collapse. Price formation is no longer based on a pragmatic reading of the trajectory of the war or the reality in the Strait of Hormuz," market analysts said.
The price surge on Friday followed Iran's accusations that the US violated a month-long ceasefire between them, while the US said its attacks were retaliatory after Iran fired on US Navy ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday.
Iran's military said the US had targeted an Iranian oil tanker and another ship, as well as civilian areas in the strait and on the mainland.
"In terms of supply, the situation remains tight," analysts said.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is investigating the costs of rising oil prices, which it said totaled $7 billion before President Trump's major Iran war announcements, Reuters reported on Thursday.
Most markets expected oil prices to fall after Trump's statements about a ceasefire or other changes in US policy towards Iran. But this trend proved short-lived after the return of conflicts in the Strait of Hormuz.
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