Brent crude futures jump on Trump’s threats over Strait of Hormuz

Brent crude futures climbed more than $1 a barrel on Thursday following U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to attack ships laying mines in the Strait ‌of Hormuz, casting doubt on the survival of a ceasefire in the war with Iran.

Brent crude futures were up $1.26, or 1.24%, to $103.17 a barrel after settling above $100 for the first time in more than two weeks on Wednesday.

West Texas Intermediate futures were up 72 cents, or 0.77%, at $93.68.

Iran flaunted its tightened grip over the Strait of Hormuz with video of its commandos storming a huge cargo ship, after the collapse of peace talks that Washington had hoped would open the world’s most important shipping corridor.

Trump said in a post on the Truth Social site that he had ordered the U.S. Navy “to shoot and kill any boat” mining the strait.

Both benchmarks closed more than $3 higher on Wednesday after a lack of progress in the peace talks and larger-than-expected draws on U.S. stocks of gasoline and distillates.

“The market may now be on the verge of a shift from ‘a deal is imminent’ to ‘this may take much longer.’ If the expectation of an early May reopening breaks … then prices will likely reprice higher, both in crude and products,” said Bjarne Schieldrop, an analyst at SEB.

While Trump extended a ceasefire between the countries after a request by Pakistani mediators, Iran and the U.S. are still restricting transit of ships through ‌the strait, which carried about 20% of daily global oil supplies until the start of the war on February 28.

Trump, without providing any evidence, said on Thursday the U.S. had “total control” over the strait, and that it was “sealed up tight” until Iran made a deal.

Iran seized two ships in the waterway on Wednesday. Trump also has maintained a U.S. Navy blockade of Iran’s trade by sea while Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, has said a full ceasefire only makes sense if the blockade is lifted.

However, about 10.7 million barrels of Iranian crude exports crossed through the strait and left the area blockaded by the U.S. Navy between April 13 and 21, data analytics company Vortexa said.

The U.S. military has intercepted at least three Iranian-flagged tankers in Asian waters and is redirecting them away from positions near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, shipping and security sources said on Wednesday.
Trump has not set an end date for the extended ceasefire, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

Total U.S. exports of crude oil and petroleum products climbed by 137,000 barrels per day to a record 12.88 million bpd last week, as Asian and European countries bought supplies after disruptions from the war, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. U.S. crude stocks rose while gasoline and distillate inventories fell.