Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose above $106 per barrel early Friday as Washington and Tehran intensified their confrontation over the critical shipping route for global energy supplies.
Oil prices have surged as tensions escalate between the United States and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, following a series of retaliatory seizures of commercial vessels by both sides.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose above $106 per barrel early Friday as Washington and Tehran intensified their confrontation over the critical shipping route for global energy supplies.
Prices reached $106.80 by 01:00 GMT, marking a nearly 5 percent increase from Wednesday’s close, when oil first climbed past $100 per barrel in two weeks.
US stock markets declined overnight, with the S&P 500 falling 0.41 percent and the Nasdaq Composite dropping 0.89 percent.
Shipping in the Strait of Hormuz which typically handles about one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply has largely halted.
Iran insists on controlling which vessels can pass through the route, while the United States has moved to block Iran’s maritime trade.
Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post on Thursday that he had ordered the US Navy to destroy any Iranian boats laying mines in the strait.
His statement followed a Pentagon announcement that it had seized a tanker carrying sanctioned Iranian oil for the second time in less than a week.
Trump also appeared to broaden the scope of the US naval blockade, stating that no ship can enter or leave the strait without approval from the US Navy.
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