#USIranTensionsOilSurges5.7% Oil prices moved sharply higher this week as renewed military exchanges between the United States and Iran revived supply concerns centered on the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate climbed roughly 5.2 percent to settle near 90.22 dollars a barrel, while Brent advanced about 4.6 percent to 94.65 dollars, marking the strongest closes for both contracts in more than five weeks. Intraday moves for WTI approached 5.7 percent at points, reflecting the speed with which traders priced in heightened geopolitical risk.

The catalyst was a fresh round of U.S. airstrikes on Iranian targets near the strait, described by Washington as a response to Iranian attempts to lay sea mines and missile attacks on a U.S. base in Jordan. Tehran retaliated against facilities hosting American forces in Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait. These exchanges broke a roughly one-month period of relative calm and immediately raised questions about the durability of any remaining commercial traffic through a waterway that previously carried about one-fifth of global seaborne oil.

Ship-tracking data already showed crossings falling to single-digit daily levels in recent sessions, far below the pre-conflict average of more than 130 vessels. Even limited further disruption would tighten physical balances at a moment when refined-product markets, especially diesel, remain under pressure from both Middle East constraints and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Benchmark prices remain more than 30 percent above levels recorded before hostilities began in late February.

From an analytical standpoint the market is responding rationally to a clear chokepoint risk. History shows that Hormuz threats tend to produce rapid risk-premium expansion rather than gradual adjustment. Whether the latest escalation proves temporary or sustained will determine if prices consolidate near current levels or push higher. For now the combination of military action, reduced transit volumes and elevated product cracks keeps the near-term bias tilted toward firmness.#USIranTensionsOilSurges5.7% #Gate60MillionUsers