Trump Claims Hormuz Open as Oil Surges to $90
President Trump claimed the United States controlled the Strait of Hormuz and that the vital waterway was open, and said Washington would seek compensation from Iran. But Tehran flatly disputed him, setting fresh conditions for any reopening and insisting the strait remained closed. Financial markets sided with Iran: oil surged for a second day, with Brent crude climbing towards $90 a barrel.
The clashing claims left the standoff as murky as ever, with each side asserting control of a chokepoint through which a fifth of the world’s oil normally passes. That crude jumped again — up around 7 per cent over two days — suggested traders did not believe the strait was truly open, pricing in a prolonged blockade and the risk of fresh attacks on shipping. Higher oil feeds through to petrol prices and, in time, to inflation, and government borrowing costs rose with it. Mr Trump’s demand for compensation mirrored Iran’s own, a sign of how far apart they remain. Watch whether shipping actually resumes through Hormuz or the price keeps climbing.