Investing.com — Global oil stocks climbed Monday as crude prices surged after a weekend of renewed tensions around the Strait of Hormuz dampened hopes that the critical waterway might soon fully reopen.
Brent crude and WTI futures rose more than 6% to $95.88 and $87.79 a barrel, respectively, after a series of incidents unfolded while markets were closed Friday.
This has also pushed global oil-linked equities higher, with and rising 3.1% and 2.5% in London trading by 07:50 GMT. France’s also climbed 2.5%, rose 2.3%, while Italy’s added 3.2%.
On Saturday, a day after Iran’s foreign minister declared the strait open, Tehran reversed course and reasserted “strict control” over it, attacking two Indian-flagged vessels in the process.
A day later, 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 traveling to and from Iranian ports.
However, Kpler data showed more than 20 vessels carrying oil products, metals, gas and fertilizer passed through the strait on Saturday — the busiest day for the chokepoint since March 1.
The developments cast fresh doubt over a ceasefire that is due to expire Tuesday. The conflict, now in its eighth week, is entering what could be a pivotal stretch, with Washington saying it would send a delegation to Pakistan for further talks with Iran, though it was unclear whether Tehran had agreed to participate.