Oil prices surged on Monday as commercial vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell to its lowest level in five weeks amid renewed US-Iran strikes and attacks on commercial shipping.
Brent crude rose more than 3% to above $78 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) climbed to around $74 as markets reacted to renewed concerns about disruption to Middle Eastern energy supplies, Reuters reported.
Only six vessels transited the strait on Sunday, down from 17 on Saturday and 34 on Friday, Reuters reported, citing ship-tracking data from Kpler.
The renewed escalation included an Iranian strike on a container ship that left the vessel on fire and prompted another round of US attacks, Lloyd’s List reported.
The threat level to commercial shipping in the region was subsequently raised to “Severe”, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had stopped two vessels from passing through the strait by disabling their systems, according to Lloyd’s List.
Most vessels operating in the high-risk area had switched off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders, making it difficult to determine the full extent of commercial traffic through the waterway, Lloyd’s List reported.
No liquefied natural gas tankers were detected transiting the strait over the weekend, according to Kpler data.
