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Crude and gasoline rise as Iran and Houthi threats tighten global supply
WTI August crude finished up 2.0% to a 5-week high, helped by reduced tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.
Crude oil and gasoline prices moved higher on Tuesday as threats to global supply intensified in the Middle East. WTI August crude oil (CLQ26) closed up 2.0% at a 5-week high, while August RBOB gasoline (RBQ26) rose 0.5%, according to Yahoo Finance.
The price gains were driven by disruptions to shipping routes. The article cited the US-Iran war curbing tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, along with warnings from Houthi militants about targeting ships heading to or from Saudi ports and a reported reduction in Red Sea tanker traffic.
Conflicts continued to escalate during the session. The report said the US and Iran exchanged strikes for a 10th consecutive day, mediators sought to revive a truce, and the UK navy reported Iran struck two vessels around the Strait of Hormuz.
Additional signs of widening conflict and supply risk also supported crude. Yahoo Finance pointed to reports that the US is sending more warplanes to the Middle East, and said an International Maritime Organization warning that it is too dangerous to cross the Strait of Hormuz has contributed to a sharp fall in visible transit through the strait.
Latest closeWTI crude $87.52 ▲3.1%|Gasoline (RBOB) $3.293 ▼3.3%