Global oil prices jump to four-week high amid renewed hostilities in Gulf

4 min readUpdated: Jul 14, 2026 03:28 PM IST

Residents check their cellphones as they sit at a cafe overlooking commercial vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Sunday, July 12, 2026. (Photo: Razieh Poudat/ISNA via AP)

Global oil prices jumped to their four-week high, as the US reinstated a naval blockade of Iranian ports and renewed hostilities between Washington and Tehran spiked concerns over energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures soared $2.74, or 3.29%, to $86.04 per ⁠barrel at ​0751 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $2.21, or 2.83%, to $80.35 a barrel.

This was Brent crude’s highest since June 12 and WTI’s since June 16.

The United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding to mark an end to the conflict on June 17 — a ceasefire deal that fell apart after Iran attacked three ships in the Hormuz on July 6.

The attacks escalated this week, as US President Donald Trump reimposed a blockade of Iranian shipping and proposed charging a 20% fee as compensation for ensuring the Strait of Hormuz.

However, Iran Sunday said it has shut the waterway until “further notice”, warning that no vessels would be allowed to pass until what it called “American interventions” in the region ended.

On Monday, shipping ⁠data showed the number of tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz fell to the lowest level in two months.

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Iran says oil exports continue despite US revoking waivers

Meanwhile, Iran’s oil minister Mohsen Paknejad said the country’s oil exports continued as usual despite the cancellation of a 60-day waiver of US oil sanctions last week, Al Jazeera reported.

Taking to his Telegram channel, Paknejad said for years the oil ministry had maintained mechanisms to neutralise the impact of US sanctions, and Iran’s oil exports would not face any hurdle despite the removal of the waivers. “The Americans, as usual, broke their promise and violated Article 10 of the memorandum of understanding related to the 60-day waivers,” he said.

Iran shipped 80 million barrels of oil in past 26 days

A maritime traffic monitor, TankerTrackers, showed that Iran has shipped out over 80 million barrels of crude oil and refined products, currently worth $6bn, in the past 26 days.

But millions more barrels are queued up for departure, it said.

It has only been twenty-six days since the United States and Iran electronically signed the sixty-day Islamabad Memorandum.

During that time (and even in the days leading up to it), more than 80 million barrels of Iranian crude oil and refined products (currently worth >$6… pic.twitter.com/xh4WRkbszp

— TankerTrackers.com, Inc. (@TankerTrackers) July 13, 2026

“Now that the US Navy blockade is being reinstated more than a month ahead of schedule, it appears that around 30 million barrels of Iranian crude oil have yet to depart,” it stated.

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“However, there are also more than 60 million barrels of floating storage capacity available within the blockade perimeter should Iran be forced to scale back its oil production.

What lies ahead?

In a note, Citi said that the possibility of the Iranian regime breaking away from the truce until after the mid-term elections in the US has also risen, and this could keep the crude prices higher for a longer period.

The crude flows from the Gulf could face further uncertainties if the Houthis extend their attacks in Saudi Arabia;s crude products, Reuters reported, citing a portfolio manager Simon Wong, as saying.

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