Oil prices soar as war rages on
Following Trump’s speech and the continued trading of strikes, the price of crude oil soared once more Thursday morning, with Brent rising to $108 per barrel.
The Strait of Hormuz, a key passage between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman through which around a fifth of global oil production flows, remains largely blocked.
Iran has used the vital waterway as a political bargaining chip following the initial U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, and despite Trump’s threats for it to be reopened, very few vessels have been granted safe passage, bringing trade to a virtual standstill.
Trump, during his address on Wednesday, once again took aim at allies who refused to send warships to reopen the Strait.
“To those countries that can’t get fuel—many of which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, we had to do it ourselves—I have a suggestion,” he said. “Number one, buy oil from the United States of America; we have plenty. We have so much. And number two, build up some delayed courage… Go to the Strait and just take it. Protect it. Use it for yourselves. Iran has been essentially decimated. The hard part is done.”
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