Oil hits $104 as the U.S. pushes allies to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz
A top Trump official said the Iran war will end "in the next few weeks," but also said there are "no guarantees" that oil prices will fall soon
The Strait of Hormuz. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP via Getty Images)
Brent crude climbed above $104 a barrel Monday morning, as the Trump administration pressed allied governments to help protect oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and threats against Iranian export facilities kept traders on edge. West Texas Intermediate approached $99, after briefly crossing $100.
Both contracts are up more than 50% over the past month, trading at levels not seen since 2022, according to CNBC. Last week marked Brent's first settlement above $100 since 2022, capping a gain of more than 11%, according to The New York Times.
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At the pump, the national average for regular gasoline reached nearly $3.72 a gallon Monday — up 25% since the war began, according to The Times. Diesel stood at $4.99, a 33% increase over the same period.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said over the weekend that the U.S.-Israel war against Iran will come to an end within a few weeks, though he offered no assurances that oil prices would fall soon. "There's no guarantees in wars at all," Wright told ABC News. He also defended the administration's handling of the Strait closure, saying the disruption was anticipated. "We were very aware, very aware that we would have short-term disruption," Wright said.
President Donald Trump said over the weekend that he was in talks with allies about securing the Strait and that other countries would send warships to help reopen it, though such commitments have yet to materialize.
Oil has remained above $100 even after more than 30 countries agreed to tap emergency stockpiles, releasing a combined 400 million barrels in the largest coordinated reserve action on record. The U.S. portion amounts to 172 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The IEA, which is managing the effort, said Asian members will begin drawing down supplies immediately; releases from Europe and the Americas are expected by late March.
The rapid rise in oil prices has upended Trump's goal of pushing crude to $50 a barrel and left the administration with limited tools to cushion the impact on American consumers.