Oil prices pushed higher on Thursday, hitting a new wartime high, as President Trump continued to assert that the naval blockade of Iran’s ports will persist until Tehran gives up its nuclear program.
Mr. Trump’s remarks to Axios suggested that the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, the vital trading route for oil and natural gas supplies, was not nearing any resolution.
The comments provided additional momentum for oil prices, which were already reflecting growing pessimism for an imminent peace deal. Over the last two weeks, the price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, has risen about 30 percent.
Oil nears wartime high.
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The main international oil price, Brent crude, continued to push higher. The price of Brent for June delivery, a soon-to-expire contract that investors trade based on their expectations for where prices are headed in the near future, jumped 4 percent to $123 a barrel.
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West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, was around $109 a barrel, up about 2 percent.
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Investors and analysts are focused on the continued disruption to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that normally carries as much as one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.
Asian stocks tumble.
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Futures on the S&P 500 pointed to a modest increase when stocks resume trading in the United States on Thursday.
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Stocks in Asia, where countries import vast quantities of oil and gas, were mostly lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were down about 1 percent.
Gasoline prices hit a fresh high.
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U.S. gasoline prices rose again on Wednesday, jumping to a national average of $4.23 a gallon, a fresh high since the start of the war in Iran. The increase has raised the cost for drivers by 42 percent, according to the AAA motor club.
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Gas prices don’t move in lock step with crude, usually trailing increases or drops by a few days.
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Diesel prices have increased even more quickly and stood at $5.46 on Wednesday, up 46 percent since the start of the war.
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