▲ Ships in the Strait of Hormuz
International oil prices surged by nearly 10% on July 13 (local time) after U.S. President Donald Trump announced the reinstatement of a maritime blockade against Iran.
On the same day, the closing price for September delivery futures on the ICE Futures Exchange reached 83.30 dollars per barrel, a 9.6% jump from the previous trading day.
Brent crude rose as high as 83.54 dollars per barrel during the session, marking its highest level in about a month since June 16, just before the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the U.S. and Iran.
At the New York Mercantile Exchange, the closing price for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for August delivery rose 9.4% from the previous trading day to 78.14 dollars per barrel.
Amid the resumption of military conflict between the U.S. and Iran, President Trump announced on this day that he would reinstate a blockade on vessels traveling to and from Iranian ports and coasts in the Strait of Hormuz.
He also declared that in exchange for the U.S. military guaranteeing the safety of civilian vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. would collect 20% of the cargo loaded on those ships as a security transit fee.
The U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East, stated that the maritime blockade against Iran would resume at 4:00 PM Eastern Time on July 14 (5:00 AM on July 15, Korea Standard Time).
With the U.S. decision to resume the blockade, the standoff between the U.S. and Iran has returned to the state it was in before the signing of the previous MOU, further escalating tensions in the Middle East.
In a report, energy research firm Gelber & Associates explained, "President Trump's reinstatement of the maritime blockade against Iran, retaliatory attacks, and the sharp decline in vessel traffic in the Strait of Hormuz have combined to heighten concerns over short-term oil supply."
Iranian military authorities criticized the U.S. move to reinstate the maritime blockade and issued a statement declaring that they would not tolerate U.S. control over the Strait of Hormuz.
A spokesperson for the Imam Khomeini Central Command, under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, stated, "We will absolutely not allow the U.S. to intervene in the management of the Strait of Hormuz."
Ukraine's continued attacks on Russian energy facilities are also contributing to supply concerns.
Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, stated the previous day that his country's drone units had attacked 10 oil tankers and 4 passenger ships overnight, and had also conducted concentrated strikes on major oil refining facilities in the city of Syzran, deep within Russia.
Meanwhile, U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) inventories continued to decline.
According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. SPR stocks fell by 3 million barrels from the previous week to 316.5 million barrels, the lowest level since April 1983.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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