Global oil prices jumped sharply on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran had collapsed, hours after Washington launched fresh strikes on Iranian targets.
Brent crude climbed 5.3% to $78.09 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate rose 5.4% to $74.23. The US said it had struck more than 80 Iranian sites overnight in retaliation for attacks on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, triggering a wave of Iranian reprisals against American bases across the Gulf.
Speaking on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Trump said the interim agreement was effectively finished, though he indicated negotiators could still continue talks. The US Treasury also revoked a waiver that had allowed Iran to sell oil on international markets.
Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the strikes as a breach of the agreement reached last month to end the war that began in February. The renewed hostilities coincide with state funeral proceedings for Iran’s late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, being held in Najaf and Karbala.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte backed the US response, calling it necessary given Iran’s alleged ceasefire violations. Markets reacted swiftly: European stock futures fell, government bond yields climbed, and energy stocks such as BP and Shell rallied on the renewed supply-risk premium.
