Oil prices jumped on Monday and stocks turned lower in volatile trading as investors reacted to the continued uncertainty over the near-total shutdown of ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
On Sunday, President Trump said on social media that, beginning Monday morning, the United States would “use best efforts” to get ships out of the strait that were not involved in the conflict. Mr. Trump offered scant details about how the process would unfold. The U.S. Central Command indicated that the American role would involve coordinating safe traffic among the stranded ships.
But Iran pushed back on Monday, issuing threats to American warships and any commercial vessels that might try to move through the strait.
Oil goes higher.
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The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, rose over 3 percent on Monday to about $112 a barrel.
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West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, rose nearly 3 percent, trading at roughly $105 a barrel.
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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 is a vital trading route for oil and natural gas that normally carries as much as one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.
Stocks drop.
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Futures on the S&P 500 point to a 0.3 percent decline when stocks resume trading in the United States on Monday. The index notched its fifth straight week of gains on Friday.
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In Europe, the Stoxx 600, a broad-index that tracks the region’s largest companies, fell 0.5 percent. Markets in Britain were closed for a holiday.
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Stocks in Asia, where countries import vast quantities of oil and gas, were mostly higher. Stock markets in Taiwan and South Korea surged more than 4 percent, as semiconductor shares rose. Markets in Japan and China were closed for a holiday.
Gasoline prices rise.
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Gas prices rose a notch on Monday to a national average of $4.46 a gallon, according to the AAA motor club. The increase has raised the cost for drivers by just shy of 50 percent since the war began.
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Gas prices do not move in lock step with crude, usually trailing increases or decreases by a few days.
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Diesel prices stood basically even at $5.64 on Monday, up just over 50 percent since the start of the war.
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