Oil prices continued their sharp advance in Asian trading on Tuesday after surging nearly 10% in the previous session, as escalating hostilities between the United States and Iran heightened concerns over potential disruptions to global crude supplies.
Brent crude futures for September delivery rose 2.1% to $85.01 per barrel as of 00:53 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures also gained 2.1% to $79.78 per barrel.
The latest gains followed Monday’s rally, during which both benchmarks climbed nearly 10% to one-month highs, marking their strongest single-day percentage increases in several months.
Market sentiment was driven by renewed geopolitical tensions after US President Donald Trump announced that Washington would reinstate a naval blockade on Iran following a fresh escalation in military exchanges with Tehran.
Trump also said the United States would impose a 20% charge on cargo transiting the Strait of Hormuz, describing the measure as a means of covering security costs in the strategically important waterway.
The US military said enforcement of the blockade would begin on Tuesday, targeting vessel traffic linked to Iran while allowing neutral commercial shipping to continue through the strait.
The announcement came after Iran reportedly launched drone attacks on US assets in Kuwait and struck a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz with cruise missiles. The United Arab Emirates also reported attacks on two of its oil tankers in Omani waters.
The developments have intensified fears that further military escalation could disrupt oil flows from the Gulf, with the Strait of Hormuz handling around one-fifth of global oil consumption and remaining one of the world’s most critical energy transit routes.
The renewed confrontation follows a weekend of missile and drone exchanges between US and Iranian forces, effectively ending a fragile understanding reached last month that had sought to ease tensions around the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran has warned that continued US military action could lead to further attacks targeting regional energy infrastructure, raising concerns over the stability of global oil supplies.
The sharp rise in crude prices also reverberated across wider financial markets, pressuring equities and fuelling inflation concerns as investors weighed the implications of higher energy costs for global economic growth and the outlook for central bank monetary policy.
