Oil prices vaulted higher on Wednesday, rebounding after more than a month of decline as President Donald Trump declared that the ceasefire with Iran was “over,” keeping the global energy markets on alert for new supply disruptions.
Trump’s musing about reimposing a naval blockade on Iran and threatening more strikes threw a curveball at an oil market that had all but erased the gains seen when the U.S. and Israel’s attacks against Iran in February led to the Strait of Hormuz closing to oil tanker traffic. U.S. oil prices briefly rose past $75 per barrel mid-day Wednesday, up more than $6 from Tuesday before hostilities flared again, before easing lower before market close.
“To me, I think it’s over,” Trump told reporters on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, referring to the ceasefire agreement the U.S. and Iran signed last month. He said negotiations would continue but called them a “waste of time.”
The latest upheaval could put Republicans’ stomachs in knots. GOP candidates had been hoping a ceasefire would stabilize fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections. A restart of the war would imperil candidates in tough races as the GOP works to protect its majorities in Washington.
