Overview

• Brent crude has traded near $76–77 per barrel with heightened volatility as investors factor in mixed signals from President Trump on possible US intervention in the Israel-Iran conflict.
• Tanker rates for voyages through the Strait of Hormuz have more than doubled, rising from about $20,000 to over $47,000 per day amid elevated security concerns.
• Insurance premiums for vessels transiting the waterway have surged by roughly 60 percent as underwriters price in the threat of attacks or blockades.
• Shell and other shipping companies report navigational system jamming off the Iranian coast and have set up contingency plans to reroute or delay shipments if tensions worsen.
• Escalating threats to regulate or restrict transit in the strait underscore the vulnerability of a channel that handles about one-fifth of global oil flows.