On March 13, 2026, the international energy market fluctuated violently due to tense geopolitical situations in the Middle East. The settlement price of Brent crude oil broke $100 per barrel for the first time since August 2022, and the price of WTI crude oil rose by more than 10% intraday to break $96 per barrel. Later, as Iran allowed ships from some countries to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the increase in oil prices narrowed.
The core inducement for this oil price surge is the supply concern caused by the blocked shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, clearly stated that he will continue to use closing the Strait of Hormuz as a pressure tool. Coupled with the attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf region, market concerns about crude oil supply disruptions continue to rise. Institutions such as Goldman Sachs and Citigroup have successively raised their oil price expectations, further supporting the upward trend of oil prices.
To stabilize oil prices, the U.S. government has taken a number of emergency measures: the Trump administration plans to issue a 30-day temporary exemption from the Jones Act, allowing foreign oil tankers to transport fuel between U.S. ports; the U.S. Treasury Department issued a license allowing the sale of Russian crude oil and petroleum products already loaded on ships from March 12 to April 11. U.S. Energy Secretary Wright revealed that the United States currently has 415 million barrels of oil reserves, but it will take 45 days for the strategic petroleum reserves to be shipped to Asia, and they will not arrive in the shortage areas until mid-May at the earliest.
Industry analysts pointed out that if the Strait of Hormuz is blocked for a long time, the global energy supply gap will further expand. Goldman Sachs warned that Brent oil prices may exceed the 2008 historical high. The current rise in oil prices has been transmitted to the global industrial chain, pushing up inflation expectations, and at the same time changing the energy market pattern. The demand for alternative energy sources such as coal is expected to further increase.
