The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway in the Middle East that marks the most sensitive transportation choke point for global oil supplies, was back in focus Friday after a U.S. airstrike killed a top Iranian military commander and heightened fears of a confrontation between the two countries.
A U.S. airstrike at Baghdad’s airport killed Qassem Soleimani, leader of the foreign wing of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Pentagon said President Donald Trump ordered the strike in a defensive action, alleging that Soleimani had planned to direct attacks on U.S. diplomats and service members in the region. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, declared three days of mourning for Soleimani’s death and said that a “hard revenge awaits criminals.”
Oil prices jumped, with West Texas Intermediate crude CLG20, +3.04% , the U.S. benchmark, rising to an eight-month high, and Brent crude BRNH20, +0.15% , the global benchmark, trading at its highest level since September when an attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure, widely blamed on Iran, temporarily knocked half of the country’s output offline.
Global stocks sold off, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.81% dropping more than 300 points in early action. The Dow remained off by around 210 points, or 0.7%, at midday, while the and S&P 500 SPX, -0.71% lost 0.6%.
Iran is widely expected to retaliate, and analysts see the potential for renewed attacks on the waterway off of the country’s southern coast. Attacks on ships around the strait last year caused temporary jumps in crude oil prices.
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Iran is widely expected to retaliate, and analysts see the potential for renewed attacks on the waterway off of the country’s southern coast. Attacks on ships around the strait last year caused temporary jumps in crude oil prices.
(Read Article)
