Brent crude futures rose 2.8% to $90.60 per barrel, while U.S. crude gained 2.5% to $85.50 amid renewed U.S.-Iran fighting.

Visible commodity-vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell to about five ships a day over the weekend

U.S. President Donald Trump has extended his military threats against Iran to include Kharg Island, the country’s main oil export terminal. He said that the island is “going to be blown to smithereens!”

On Monday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that a supertanker had caught fire and was left disabled in the southern Strait of Hormuz after hitting two naval mines. According to Iranian media reports, the IRGC said the supertanker was not complying with Iran’s passage rules. The IRGC Navy also urged vessels to comply with these rules for safe passage through the waterway.

After a U.S. attack

This was after a U.S. attack on two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island, about 660 km east of Kharg in the Strait of Hormuz. According to U.S. Central Command, its forces had taken 'limited, precise' action against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' mine-laying forces, which were posing an 'imminent threat' to shipping. Iran later claimed to have struck U.S. bases in Jordan.

“Earlier today, U.S. forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island. We observed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces preparing to launch rockets and deploy sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz,” said Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, a U.S. Central Command spokesperson

Related: Trump threatens to ‘obliterate’ Iran’s power plants if Strait of Hormuz is not reopened

 Brent crude futures rose

Amid renewed U.S.-Iran fighting, it is noteworthy that Brent crude futures rose 2.8% to $90.60 per barrel, while U.S. crude gained 2.5% to $85.50. Over the weekend, visible commodity-vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell to around five ships a day, although this figure may be higher as some vessels had switched off their Automatic Identification System signals. Before the conflict, nearly a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments passed through the strait.  

#Donald Trump #U.S. forces #(IRGC) #Strait of Hormuz #IRGC Navy#Iran’s Kharg Island # oil hub#Larak Island #Brent crude