Oil stocks jumped in morning trading. Battalion Oil rose 32%; United States Oil Fund LP rose 13%; ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil rose 9%; Occidental rose 6%; Apache rose 5%; ConocoPhillips, Woodside Energy, Devon, Chevron, BP, Marathon Petroleum, and Exxon Mobil rose 4%; Halliburton, Cheniere, Valero, Phillips 66, TotalEnergies, and Shell rose 3%; SLB rose 2%.
Oil rallied above $110 a barrel after US President Donald Trump vowed an escalation in the war in Iran over the coming weeks, a move that could prolong disruptions to energy flows through the vital Strait of Hormuz.
West Texas Intermediate surged more than 10%, while the global Brent benchmark was also near $110. Europe’s diesel futures benchmark climbed above $200 a barrel for the first time since 2022.
The gains followed Trump’s rare prime-time address to the nation, where he cast the war as a success. The president said the US would hit Iran hard over the next two to three weeks, and that Hormuz would open “naturally” after the conflict ends, without offering details or a clear timeline. French President Emmanuel Macron said it would be unrealistic to use military means to reopen the strait.
While there’s been a heavy focus on crude prices, markets for refined fuels have been trading even higher. European diesel’s jump on Thursday is the latest surge that underscores the potential inflationary hit to the global economy. Some cargoes have been sailing thousands of miles as buyers in different regions rush to scoop up available supplies.
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