US crude oil prices touched $80 a barrel on Thursday as Iran’s war disrupted global energy supplies, with attacks on tankers halting traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
The price of West Texas Intermediate Oil rose 8.51%, or $6.35, to $81.01 a barrel in its biggest one-day gain since May 2020. A global standard Brent 4.93%, or $4.01, to settle at $85.41 per barrel. US oil prices are up nearly 21% this week.
Retail gasoline prices in the U.S. have jumped about 27 cents since last week to an average of $3.25 per gallon, according to the motorists group AAA. The last time gas prices made a similar jump was in March 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine, the group said.
President Donald Trump said Thursday that “further action to reduce pressure on oil is imminent.” Trump said on Tuesday that the US would provide political risk insurance and naval escorts for the tankers.
Iran claimed to have hit the oil tanker with a missile, according to state media reports. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard earlier this week ordered the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and threatened to attack tankers passing through it, state media said.
On Thursday the British Navy reported a large explosion on a tanker at anchor in Iraqi territorial waters. The master of the vessel was reportedly seen fleeing the scene of a small vessel. The crew was safe and there was no fire.
Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been halted since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran, as ship owners worry about the volatile security situation. About 20% of global oil consumption is exported through the Straits.
White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt told reporters Wednesday that the Trump administration does not have a timeline for when the strait will be safe for commercial shipping again.
“I don’t want to commit to a timeline, but certainly it’s actively being calculated by both the Department of War and the Department of Energy,” Leavitt said when asked at the briefing.
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