Oil prices rise as stocks erase losses sparked by Iran war

Oil surged Monday, as a U.S. blockade of Iran’s ports began. President Donald Trump threatened what he called Iranian “fast attack ships.”

The price of oil rose Monday, as a U.S. blockade of Iran’s ports and coastal areas came into effect and President Donald Trump threatened to eliminate any Iranian “fast attack ships” that approached American assets.

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The price of U.S. crude oil closed higher by 2.6% to $99.08 per barrel. International Brent oil jumped 4.3% to $99.36 per barrel. Wholesale gas prices also added 2%, while heating oil, a proxy for jet fuel prices, jumped 4%.

Stocks followed a different pattern, though, and traded sharply higher throughout the day on bursts of optimism that the war will somehow be diffused in the near term.