Oil prices surge as Hormuz disruption continues

Oil prices surged more than 3% on Monday after renewed military strikes between the United States and Iran reignited concerns over energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude futures were up $2.67, or 3.51%, to $78.68 at 0743 GMT, while U.S. West ⁠Texas Intermediate crude was up $2.48, or 3.47%, to $73.89 a barrel. 
Oman Crude for September delivery was up $2.82 to $72.11 per barrel on Monday. It may be noted that the monthly average price of Omani crude oil for July delivery reached $102 per barrel.

'Shipping operators are adopting a cautious approach ⁠and inbound movements have slowed under heightening security concerns,' ANZ analysts said. 
Fresh U.S. and Iranian strikes over the weekend fuelled fears of a renewed escalation. Tehran targeted U.S. facilities across the Gulf on Sunday and said it had again closed the Strait ‌of Hormuz. 
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Monday they had ​attacked U.S. military bases ⁠in Kuwait and Bahrain. Before the conflict began in late February, the Strait ​of Hormuz handled about one-fifth of global daily ‌oil and liquefied natural gas supplies. 
Vessel traffic through the strait fell to a five-week low on Sunday, ship-tracking data showed. Six vessels transited the strait on ​Sunday, according to Kpler. 
The escalating attacks cast doubt on the future of an interim U.S.-Iranian agreement signed last month that aimed to reopen the strait and end the war after a further 60 days of negotiations. Global oil supply rose by 4.1 million barrels per day in June following the agreement, but remained 9.4 million bpd below pre-war ‌levels, the International Energy Agency said in its monthly report on Friday. 
U.S. President Donald Trump said on ​Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz remained open to commercial traffic, despite Iran's earlier declaration that it had ​closed ‌the waterway after a vessel travelled on an unauthorised route and was struck. Goldman Sachs estimated that expanding pipeline capacity in the Middle East could shield more than 60% of pre-war Gulf oil exports from any future Hormuz ​disruptions by end-2028. 
The bank's base-case forecast assumes pipeline capacity bypassing Hormuz will ⁠rise by 3.8 ​million bpd by end-2027 and 7.3 million bpd cumulatively by end-2028, taking total effective bypass capacity to more than 14 million bpd by end-2028.