Due to escalating tensions between the US and Iran, and the US announcing it would reinstate a maritime blockade on Iran, international crude oil futures prices saw a significant surge in early trading on the 13th, closing with gains of over 9%—the largest single-day increase since May 2020. After the new trading day opened on the evening of the 13th, international oil prices continued to climb.
At the close on the 13th, the price of light crude oil futures for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by $6.73 to settle at $78.14 per barrel, an increase of 9.42%; September delivery Brent crude oil futures in London rose by $7.29 to settle at $83.30 per barrel (about RM339.16), a gain of 9.59%.
Analysts at Dutch bank ING said the escalation of conflict has reduced traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to a low level, once again raising concerns about oil supply tightness in the third quarter.
XS Group senior market analyst Gulay, with the global financial brokerage, said the current trend in the energy market is not just a short-term technical rebound, but also a repricing of geopolitical risk by the market.