President Donald Trump told Americans to accept continued high gasoline prices as the war with Iran drags on, while Tehran remains defiant over the blocked Strait of Hormuz. The average U.S. gas price has climbed 29% over the past year as crude benchmarks post a strong weekly gain and shipping through the strait stays near a standstill.
Iran called on the United States to accept defeat on Saturday, while Trump again described Tehran as evil and told Americans to brace for continued high fuel prices because of the war. Progress toward peace talks and oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained halted, with no sign the warring parties were moving toward ending the conflict that the U.S. and Israel launched on February 28.
Gasoline prices climb as war continues
The trend has fueled inflation and disappointed voters. The average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline was about $4.08 on Friday, up 29% from a year earlier, according to the American Automobile Association.
Trump told supporters at a rally in Garden City, New York, on Friday that paying "a tiny little bit more for your gasoline" is worth the cost of ensuring a very evil country could not have a nuclear weapon, one of his stated rationales for the war.
Crude oil futures rose $1 a barrel on Friday. Brent futures were on track for a weekly rise of 6.0% and West Texas Intermediate for 5.4%.
Strait of Hormuz blockade squeezes supply
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the strait would stay under Iran's control so long as Washington does not accept defeat. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Iran had not decided to resume talks with the U.S., adding that Washington must meet conditions on the strait before shipping can resume in the waterway that handled one-fifth of the world's oil before the war.
Only two vessels passed through the strait on Friday with no crude oil shipments visible, according to ship-tracking firm Kpler, far below the more than 130 ships that traversed it daily before the war. Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, blamed rising inflation on the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and sanctions on Iran's oil exports.
Attacks widen the regional risk
Vessels that cross the strait without Iranian permission risk missile or drone strikes. The United Arab Emirates' Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said two of its vessels were attacked transiting the strait on Thursday evening, and a bulk carrier was struck by an unknown projectile on Friday, the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre said.
Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen also renewed regional tension: Yemen's internationally recognized government said the Houthis fired six ballistic missiles at the Red Sea port of Mocha on Friday, killing four civilians. A tentative June deal to end the war remains in tatters.
Source: Commodities & Futures News
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