Dow Dives 500 Points as Oil Jumps, Iran Says It Will Keep Strait of Hormuz Shut
U.S. stocks came under pressure on Thursday as oil prices extended their surge on worries about supply disruption, while the Iran war continued to escalate.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 512 points, or 1.1%. The S&P 500 slipped 0.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite also lost 0.8%.
Crude prices kept climbing after Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said the closure of the Strait of Hormuz should continue as a “tool to pressure the enemy.” WTI futures traded about 7% higher around $94 a barrel. Brent futures advanced roughly 7% to near $99 a barrel, after briefly touching $100 again.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC on Thursday that the U.S. Navy is “not ready” to escort oil tankers through the strait, though he said it will likely be able to do so by the end of the month. Traffic through the key passageway has nearly ground to a halt as the Middle East conflict intensifies.
Overnight, authorities said three additional foreign vessels were hit in the Persian Gulf. That followed reports that three separate ships—including one in the strait—had been struck on Wednesday.
Source : Newsmaker.id
