Oil prices surged more than five percent to a four-year high Thursday after Donald Trump signaled the US naval blockade of Iranian ports could last months. Trump told national security officials to prepare for a prolonged blockade aimed at forcing Iran to abandon its nuclear programme. He also told Axios the blockade was more effective than airstrikes, adding it would not end until a deal was reached. Iran submitted a new proposal this week to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but Trump reportedly dismissed it as bad-faith negotiating. The Strait of Hormuz carries roughly a fifth of global oil and gas supply. Brent crude for June delivery jumped 6.8 percent to $126, while West Texas Intermediate rose three percent past $110, the highest levels since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Analysts say traders are now pricing in a longer crisis than initially assumed. Stock markets fell across Tokyo, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Sydney, Seoul, Bangkok, Manila, and Jakarta. The dollar gained on safe-haven demand. The AI trade provided some offset: Samsung Electronics reported a 750 percent surge in operating profit driven by chip demand, following strong earnings from Microsoft, Meta, and Alphabet. The Federal Reserve held rates, citing inflation risk from rising energy costs, though four members dissented, the most since 1992. It was Jerome Powell's final meeting; Kevin Warsh is set to take over next month.
Iranian armed forces attacked a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, briefly halting traffic through the waterway. The strike threatens a fragile US-Iran arrangement and could push shipping insurance costs and oil prices higher.
The US has struck Iran, with President Trump citing an Iranian attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz as justification. The action raises immediate risks for global oil flows through one of the world's most critical shipping chokepoints.
The US struck ten Iranian targets on the second consecutive day of military action, putting a fragile ceasefire under serious pressure. The escalation raises immediate risks for Gulf shipping, global oil supply, and regional stability.
Venezuela's twin earthquakes, magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, have killed at least 164 people and injured 971, interim president Delcy Rodriguez confirmed Thursday. The quakes are the country's strongest since 1900, collapsing buildings across Caracas and prompting a state of emergency, with the death toll expected to rise as
