U.S. crude-oil futures rallied Thursday as restricted vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty supported prices following Wednesday's sharp losses.
The May West Texas Intermediate contract was trading $5.64 higher at $100.05/bbl, with the June contract up $2.92 at $90.67/bbl. The June ICE Brent contract rose $2.40 to $97.15/bbl, with July up $1.21 at $91.47/bbl.
The May ULSD contract was trading 13cts higher at $3.9424/gal, with June up 11.41cts at $3.6983/gal. The May RBOB contract rose 4.46cts to $3.0505/gal, while June was up 4.10cts at $2.9615/gal.
Crude prices strengthened as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained minimal following the announcement of a cease-fire earlier this week, with access to the waterway restricted and controlled, according to comments from Abu Dhabi National Oil. The strait typically handles about 20% of global oil supply.
Shipping disruptions persisted, with more than 400 vessels effectively stranded in the region as of Wednesday and only a limited number of ships transiting the strait. Reports also indicate Iran is restricting the number of vessels allowed to pass and may impose transit fees.
President Trump said the U.S. military would remain in the region until a "real agreement" with Iran is reached and fully complied with, adding uncertainty around the durability of the cease-fire and the timing of a normalization in flows.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
-- Reporting by Allegra Fradkin, afradkin@opisnet.com; Editing by Steve Cronin, scronin@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 09, 2026 12:20 ET (16:20 GMT)
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