The forward barrel price of Brent oil, which ended yesterday at $104.4, rose 5.32 percent compared to today's closing price of 16.53 to reach $109.95. At the same time, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil was purchased for $105.12, an increase of 5.19 percent.
The price increase was influenced by news that US President Donald Trump had ordered his advisers to prepare for a longer-term naval blockade of Iranian ports.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which relied on US officials, Trump decided to continue pressure on the country's oil revenues and economic resources in order to force the Iranian government to withdraw from its nuclear program.
Trump has instructed his advisers to prepare for a prolonged blockade of Iran to force Tehran to accept nuclear concessions that the country has long rejected, officials said.
Officials noted that Trump viewed the options of relaunching airstrikes or withdrawing from the conflict as entirely riskier than continuing the current blockade, saying that in recent talks Trump favored suppressing oil exports by restricting maritime traffic to Iranian ports.
The News reported that some names close to Trump suggested continuing pressure on Tehran, while others said they were concerned that closing the Strait of Hormuz or intensifying the war would bring economic and political risks.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard announced that the Strait of Hormuz was closed to passage on March 2 following the US-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28.
After the collapse of the US-Iran negotiation process in Pakistan, Trump declared that the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would begin on April 12. Immediately after this statement, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it would initiate a naval blockade on April 13 against all ships entering or leaving Iranian ports.
The United Nations (UN) said ship passage has fallen by 95.3 percent due to restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war between the US, Israel and Iran.
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