Oil spikes on tariff and blockade threats
US political moves — including a 50% tariff threat to China and announcements of a maritime blockade affecting Iranian ports — pushed oil back above $100 a barrel in market reports. Multiple outlets covered the escalation and the immediate jump in energy prices during the April 13 session (indianexpress.com, scmp.com).
Oil jumped back above $100 a barrel on Monday, April 13, after Washington paired a China tariff threat with a naval move against Iranian shipping. (reuters.com, ft.com) Reuters reported Brent crude rose 7.3% to $102.16 a barrel by 0430 Greenwich Mean Time, while United States West Texas Intermediate climbed 8.4% to $104.69. The Financial Times showed Brent at $101.42 later in the session, up 6.53%. (reuters.com, ft.com) The immediate trigger was a United States order to begin blocking ships entering or leaving Iranian ports at 10 a.m. Eastern on Monday, according to United States Central Command and Associated Press reporting. President Donald Trump also threatened a 50% tariff on China tied to support for Tehran, according to Politico and market coverage cited by Reuters-linked reports. (apnews.com, politico.com, reuters.com) The waterway at the center of the move is the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow channel between Iran and Oman that the International Energy Agency said carried an average 20 million barrels a day in 2025. The United States Energy Information Administration put recent flows at about one-fifth of global petroleum liquids consumption. (iea.org, eia.gov) That makes any threat to traffic there a direct oil-market problem, not just a military one. The Energy Information Administration said in its April 7 outlook that global oil markets were already in “heightened volatility and uncertainty” because the strait had been effectively closed to shipping traffic since military action began on February 28. (eia.gov) The blockade order followed failed talks in Islamabad between United States and Iranian officials. Reuters, The New York Times and CBS all reported that the negotiations ended without a deal before the new shipping restrictions were announced. (reuters.com, nytimes.com, cbsnews.com) Iran rejected the move and disputed the United States framing. Associated Press reported Iranian officials called the blockade plan “ridiculous,” while Pakistan’s foreign minister urged all sides to respect ceasefire commitments. (apnews.com, cgtn.com) For traders, the question is no longer only how much Iranian crude can leave port. It is whether the United States can enforce a blockade around a route that moves roughly a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil trade without pulling China, Gulf exporters and commercial shippers deeper into the crisis. (eia.gov, cnbc.com) By Monday’s session, the market had already delivered its first verdict: higher prices, wider war-risk assumptions and a renewed focus on every tanker moving toward the Gulf. (reuters.com, nytimes.com)
