Oil spikes past $103

Oil shot past $103 a barrel on Monday after the United States moved toward a naval blockade around Iran, jolting energy and stock markets. (reuters.com) (apnews.com) Reuters reported Brent crude at $102.80 by 2310 Greenwich Mean Time and later above $103, while United States West Texas Intermediate traded near $104.88 after weekend losses. (reuters.com) (ndtvprofit.com) The move followed more than 20 hours of talks in Islamabad that ended early Sunday, April 12, without a deal between Washington and Tehran to end the six-week war. Vice President J.D. Vance said Iran had “chosen not to accept our terms.” (time.com) (politico.com) President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States Navy would intercept ships entering or leaving Iranian ports and vessels that had paid Iran for safe passage. United States Central Command said the blockade would begin at 10 a.m. Eastern Time on Monday, April 13. (politico.com) (reuters.com) (apnews.com) The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil trade. When traffic there is threatened, traders price in the risk that fewer barrels will reach Asia, Europe and the United States on time. (politico.com) (apnews.com) Analyst Saul Kavonic of MST Marquee told Reuters the blockade could hit up to 2 million barrels a day of Iran-linked flows through the strait. That estimate helped explain why oil jumped even though traders still see a full, prolonged shutdown as uncertain. (reuters.com) (nytimes.com) Stocks fell as oil rose, with reports of a broad sell-off across Asia and Europe as investors moved out of riskier assets. Higher crude prices feed quickly into expectations for gasoline, diesel, shipping and airline costs. (apnews.com) (google.com) Iran warned that military vessels approaching the strait would be treated as a ceasefire breach, and Iranian officials have framed the American move as an escalation rather than a shipping-security operation. Washington says the blockade is aimed at Iranian ports and vessels tied to Tehran’s toll system. (reuters.com) (apnews.com) (politico.com) Trump acknowledged on Sunday that oil and gasoline prices could stay high through the November midterm elections. For now, the market is trading on a single question: whether ships keep moving through Hormuz without interruption. (reuters.com) (timesunion.com)