Oil prices rise as U.S. and Iran test truce with military strikes
Trump urged Iran to accept the American peace agreement quickly and suggesting that if the truce collapsed, the consequences would be dire.
Oil prices climbed and stocks across Asia fell on Friday after the United States said it had struck Iranian military sites in retaliation for Iran firing on U.S. warships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Despite the exchange, President Donald Trump insisted the ceasefire remained intact. But he also issued a stark warning to Iran, urging it to accept the American peace agreement quickly and suggesting that if the truce collapsed, the consequences would be dire. Iran, he said, would become “one big glow.”
Oil prices jump
The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, rose 2% to about $102 a barrel.
West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, increased 2% to $96 a barrel.
Investors and analysts are focused on the continued disruption to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that is a vital trading route for oil and natural gas that normally carries as much as one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.
Stocks in Asia slip
Futures on the S&P 500 pointed to a modest increase when stocks resume trading in the United States on Friday.
Stocks in Asia, where countries import vast quantities of oil and gas, were broadly lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1%, while markets in Japan, South Korea and mainland China were all lower.
Gasoline prices move higher
Gas prices rose again Thursday, jumping to a national average of $4.56 a gallon, according to the AAA motor club. The increase has raised the cost for drivers by 53% since the war began.
Gas prices don’t move in lock step with crude, usually trailing increases or drops by a few days.
The average price of diesel held steady at $5.67 on Thursday, up 51% since the start of the war.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.