Oil Climbs a Fourth Day as Hormuz Blockade Drags On
Oil prices rose for a fourth straight session, with Brent holding near $92 a barrel, as the Strait of Hormuz remained effectively closed almost six months into the crisis. Traffic through the waterway, which normally carries a fifth of the world’s oil, has collapsed to a handful of vessels a day. The International Energy Agency warned that reopening it is increasingly urgent as the world draws down its stockpiles.
The steady climb in crude, up around a quarter since the winter, is the clearest transmission line from the Gulf crisis to households far away, feeding petrol pumps, energy bills and the wider cost of everything that must be moved or made. With Mr Trump tightening the economic screws on Iran and the strait no closer to reopening, the risk premium looks entrenched rather than temporary. Stockpiles built up over years are cushioning the blow, but they are finite, and the IEA’s warning is a reminder that the buffer is thinning. A single further escalation could send prices sharply higher. Watch the shipping lanes and whether any diplomatic opening emerges.