Crude oil prices jumped on Monday after the US-Iran peace talks failed to reach a deal over the weekend, and the US moved to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, escalating a global energy crisis.
Global benchmark Brent crude oil price surged 8.36% to $103.16 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rallied 8.22% to $104.57 per barrel.
Meanwhile, European gas futures also spiked almost 18% at one point.
US forces will begin implementing the blockade, which applies only to vessels entering or departing Iranian ports, from 10 a.m. New York time Monday, the US Central Command said.
CENTCOM said that the measure would be applied impartially to ships from all countries, while still permitting vessels traveling between non-Iranian ports to pass through the Strait.
The Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit chokepoint which links the Persian Gulf to global markets, has been effectively closed since US and Israeli strikes on Iran began in late February.
US-Iran Ceasefire Talks Fail
The US-Iran peace talks this weekend in Pakistan failed to reach any agreement, and neither of the two countries indicated what will happen after the ceasefire deadline expires on April 22.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said the strait remained under Iran’s “full control” and was open for non-military vessels, but military ones would get a “forceful response.”
Writing on X, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran had negotiated with the US in “good faith” for an end to the war. “But when just inches away from “Islamabad MoU”, we encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade,” he wrote, using an acronym for “memorandum of understanding.”
US Vice President JD Vance said Washington’s core goal was a commitment from Iran not to seek a nuclear weapon, but returned home without it.
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