Oil rises US$2 as Iran announces closure of Hormuz following US strikes Global oil consumption is roughly 100 million barrels per day - Iran has continued to block most shipping through the strait while Washington has imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports. PHOTO: REUTERS OIL prices climbed more than US$2 a barrel Thursday (Jun 11) as Iran declared the critical energy chokepoint, the Strait of Hormuz, closed after the US launched additional strikes against Iran. Brent futures rose US$2.30, or 2.47 per cent, to US$95.40 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed US$2.60, or 2.89 per cent, to US$92.63. US crude futures gained more than US$3 earlier in the session. Iran’s top joint military command announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, including oil tankers and commercial ships, saying any vessel that will attempt passage will be shot at. However, the US military said on X that commercial ships continue to transit in and out of the strait. It also said no US warships have been struck in the strait, after Iran’s state media reported US ships near the waterway were targeted by missiles and drones. US forces began launching additional strikes against multiple targets in Iran at 5.15 pm EDT (5.15 am in Singapore on Thursday), the latest in an escalating exchange of attacks that threaten to reignite a full-scale war, which was paused in early April when the two sides agreed to a fragile ceasefire. Asean Intelligence Get insights into businesses across South-east AsiaGet the free report Iran’s months-long blockade of the strait, which normally carries a fifth of the global oil and gas shipments, have kept oil prices elevated. Separately, US crude inventories fell by 7.2 million barrels to 426.5 million barrels in the week ended Jun 5, the US Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 4 million-barrel draw. US crude inventories, including those from strategic reserves, have fallen by 79 million barrels since the Iran war began on Feb 28, as the world’s largest producer stepped into fill supply gaps left by the effective closure of the strait. REUTERS Decoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. Free. Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services TRENDING NOW ‘I felt like dying’: Thai Singha beer scion speaks up after disclosure of alleged sexual abuse CICT’s S$3.9 billion Paragon buy draws scrutiny over timing, funding at EGM Japan’s Asics to spin off popular Onitsuka Tiger sneaker business; shares rise Singapore Kitchen CEO, senior manager charged with alleged fraud, falsifying accounts; both to stay in jobs for now
Oil rises US$2 as Iran announces closure of Hormuz following US strikes Global oil consumption is roughly 100 million barrels per day - Iran has continued to block most shipping through the strait while Washington has imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports. PHOTO: REUTERS OIL …
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A tanker identified as the Kaifan was struck by an unknown projectile northeast of Oman’s Limah in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a July 21 report from UK Maritime Trade Operations. No ships were observed transiting the strait that day. Attribution of the strike and links to prior incidents have not been confirmed by the vessel’s owner.
Goldman Sachs has projected Brent crude averaging $80 per barrel in the fourth quarter and $75 in the following year, conditional on reduced Middle East tensions, while noting upside risks from potential shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz or Red Sea.
Brent prices rose above $91 per barrel amid recent U.S.-Iran exchanges and Houthi threats to Saudi shipments before edging lower on Tuesday. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that mediators had proposed a 10-day ceasefire to preserve an interim agreement.
Opening summary: Iran claims attacks on strait of Hormuz ships amid fresh US strikes Welcome to our live coverage of the latest developments in the Middle East crisis. Iran attacked a tanker in the strait of Hormuz early on Tuesday, forcing its crew to abandon the ship, as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis announced they were imposing an immediate maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea after the two sides traded fire last week for the first time in years.
A Houthi official said the Bab al-Mandeb strait – at the southern end of the Red Sea, through which about 12% of the world’s trade usually passes – would be closed to the Saudis in response to the kingdom’s “unjust blockade on Yemenis for over 10 years”.
Saudi Arabia said it would take “all necessary measures to protect its vessels in accordance with international law”. A 10 consecutive night of US airstrikes has not compelled Tehran to loosen its grip on the strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy supplies.
But even as Iran’s president said the country had returned “full-scale war”, the Iranian interior minister travelled to Pakistan – a key mediator in the conflict – for talks. In key developments: The latest US strikes came hours after Donald Trump said Iran would pay “many times over” for killing US soldiers after multiple service members were killed in action over the weekend.
A tanker came under attack early Tuesday in the Hormuz strait off Oman, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed the attack as well as two other attacks on ships in the waterway on Monday.
The US military’s Central Command said its latest airstrikes were to “degrade” Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping in the strait and included hitting military command centres and missile and drone launch sites. Iranian media reported strikes in parts of the country including Bandar Abbas, Tabriz and Bushehr, home to the country’s only operational civilian nuclear power.
Iran’s launched attacks in response against Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, which all host US forces. Oil prices softened after hitting their highest levels in more than a month in the previous session. Brent crude futures eased 0.4% to $88.87 a barrel by 0052 GMT on Tuesday while US West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was steady at $82.
47 a barrel. Democrats have seized on the deaths of three US troops killed in Iranian strikes to urge Trump to urgently reverse his resumption of the war with Iran amid widespread anxiety over climbing casualties. The Lebanese army began taking charge of security in three southern villages, the US said, as a deal to secure an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah faced its first test on the ground.
US forces struck the tanker Settebello in the Gulf of Oman on June 10, killing three Indian crew members when munitions hit the engine room and adjacent areas. Maritime tracking data indicate the vessel had transported Iranian oil under US sanctions for several years and conducted offshore transfers prior to the strike.
The US military described the action as a precision operation, while reports note the ship was stationary at the time.