Global oil stocks advanced on Monday as crude benchmarks spiked after a weekend of new incidents tied to the Strait of Hormuz dimmed hopes the strategic shipping lane would soon be operating without disruption.
Brent crude futures climbed to $95.88 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate futures rose to $87.79 a barrel, gains of more than 6% for both contracts. The price reaction followed a string of events that unfolded while markets were closed on Friday.
Energy-linked equities moved higher alongside the commodity. In London trading by 07:50 GMT, BP was up 3.1% and Shell gained 2.5%. TotalEnergies also rose 2.5%, Galp increased 2.3% and Eni added 3.2%.
The sequence of developments began after an apparent reversal by Tehran to statements made earlier in the weekend. On Saturday, a day after Iran's foreign minister said the strait was open, Iranian authorities reasserted what they described as "strict control" over the waterway and attacked two Indian-flagged vessels.
Following that, U.S. naval forces responded. A U.S. Navy destroyer launched attacks and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that President Trump said had attempted to evade a U.S. blockade on vessels travelling to and from Iranian ports.
Despite the incidents, Kpler data indicated more than 20 vessels carrying oil products, metals, gas and fertilizer transited the strait on Saturday, marking the busiest day for the chokepoint since March 1.
The fresh hostilities cloud the outlook for a ceasefire that is scheduled to expire on Tuesday. The conflict entered its eighth week and is moving into a potentially critical period. Washington said it planned to send a delegation to Pakistan for further talks with Iran, though it was unclear whether Tehran had agreed to take part.
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