Oil climbs as Hormuz closure threat and ship attacks rattle markets
What's new: Brent neared $90 a barrel, while shipping through the Strait of Hormuz fell to six vessels from a prewar 125 to 140 a day.
Oil prices rose and stocks slipped after fresh attacks on shipping and a renewed Iranian threat to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed deepened fears of a prolonged supply shock. Brent crude climbed to about $89.63 a barrel on Wednesday after settling above $88 the day before, while US crude approached $84. Iran security official Mohsen Rezaei tied any reopening of Hormuz to US acceptance of Tehran’s demands, including the release of frozen assets. Separate incidents in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and near the Gulf of Oman added to market anxiety. Shipping data showed Hormuz traffic fell to six vessels on Monday, far below a 10-day average of about 11 and the prewar norm of 125 to 140 a day. Wall Street ended lower Tuesday as energy shares rose but major tech stocks dragged indexes down.