Oil prices surge 6 percent amid Strait of Hormuz tensions

Oil prices surged about 6 percent on Monday as Iran intensified attacks near the Strait of Hormuz and the UAE, raising fresh fears over Middle East oil supplies.

Brent crude futures rose by $6.79, or 6.3 percent, to $114.96 per barrel at 12:54 p.m. EDT (1654 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude increased by $4.23, or 4.2 percent, to $106.17, News.Az reported, citing foreign media.

The price jump came after a South Korean ship was hit by an explosion in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday (May 04, 2026). Iranian drones also reportedly caused a fire at an oil port in the United Arab Emirates.

The incidents marked the most serious escalation since a U.S.-Iran ceasefire came into effect in early April.

The attacks also came after U.S. President Donald Trump said his Navy would open the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for global energy supplies.

The U.S. military said it destroyed six Iranian small boats and intercepted Iranian cruise missiles and drones fired by Tehran.

U.S. Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of Central Command, said on Monday that the U.S. had launched an operation to free up shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

However, Iranian military officials denied that Iranian small boats had been sunk.

Before the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, around 20 percent of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy also issued a map that it said expanded Iran-controlled areas near the Strait of Hormuz.

According to Iranian news agencies, the map included the UAE’s ports of Fujairah and Khorfakkan, as well as the coast of Umm Al Quwain emirate in the UAE.

UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said the direction of oil prices remained tilted upward as long as flows through the strait stayed restricted.

Earlier on Monday, the U.S. military said two U.S. merchant ships had passed through the strait, but it did not say when the crossings took place.

Iran denied that any such crossings had happened.

(Courtesy: News.Az) 

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