Concerns over the uncertain outlook for shipping recovery in the Strait of Hormuz fueled market anxiety, pushing international crude oil futures higher during trading on the 10th, with a close of approximately 5% gains.
By the close of trading that day, light crude oil futures for September delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $3.95 to settle at $82.13 per barrel, a gain of 5.05%. Meanwhile, October delivery Brent crude oil futures on the London ICE Futures Exchange increased $4.17 to close at $87.72 per barrel, a rise of 4.99%.
According to a report on the 9th by Axios, U.S. President Donald Trump indicated during an interview with the outlet a preference for applying economic pressure on Iran rather than launching new military operations. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated on the 9th that Iran is currently not engaged in any negotiations with the United States. He added that until the U.S. ceases its violations of the memorandum of understanding and remedies the related breaches, Iran sees no basis for restarting talks.
Iran's News TV reported on the 8th that Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed if the U.S. does not change its behavior. The reopening of the strait is contingent on the U.S. meeting five conditions, including a permanent halt to military actions against Iran, the return of frozen Iranian assets, and compensation for losses caused by such military operations.
Dennis Kiesler, vice president of trading at Oklahoma-based Bank Financial Holdings, noted that most traders sense that the tightening of crude oil supply could persist for an extended period in the near term. Market analyst Razan Hilal from online brokerage firm GAIN Capital commented that the market is attempting to balance the recovery of crude oil supply with ongoing uncertainty over the future governance and security of the Strait of Hormuz, which is embedding a geopolitical risk premium into energy prices.
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