The day President Trump implemented his naval blockade of oil tankers coming and going from the Strait of Hormuz, crude oil prices first surged to more than $100 a barrel, then retreated to settle under the mark.
The blockade was Trump’s reaction to the collapse of peace talks over the weekend. It countered Iran’s restrictions of what ships could pass through the Strait and turned the tables on the country. At last word, the blockade by the U.S. Navy allowed 34 ships to pass through the narrow stretch of water which handles nearly 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows.
Global benchmark rose $4.16 or 4.37% to close at $99.36 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate crude in the U.S. finished up $2.51 or 2.6% higher at $99.08 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent had risen $8 and WTI $9 earlier in the trading session.
Natural gas prices finished down for the day, settling at $2.629 MMBtu with a drop of $0.019 or 0.72%.
Fuel prices were up from a week ago, reaching the U.S. average of $4.12 for a gallon of gasoline while diesel fuel was at $5.65 per gallon.
AAA reported Oklahoma’s average was $3.44 or 17 cents more than a week ago. Oklahoma City’s new average this week rose 21 cents to $3.44 and the average in Tulsa gained 23 cents to reach $3.44.
Monday’s trading resulted in a split day for Oklahoma energy stocks. At least four firms, Helmerich & Payne, Mammoth Energy Services, Stardust Power and USA Rare Earth each recorded strong 3% gains for the day. However, NGL Energy Partners dropped 4%.