Oil prices surged on Thursday after ships came under attack in the Persian Gulf, and Iran’s supreme leader vowed revenge for U.S. and Israeli airstrikes.
The United States and Israel launched more strikes against Iran, where crowds mourned military commanders killed in the war. Israel also bombed targets in Lebanon, where the death toll climbed.
The members of the International Energy Agency will release 400 million barrels of oil, the largest such coordinated action on record.
In the lead-up to the U.S.-Israeli attack, President Trump downplayed the risks to the energy markets as a short-term concern that should not overshadow the mission to decapitate the Iranian regime.
Now 11 days into an expanding military campaign, President Trump and his officials have given conflicting indications on how long the United States intends the war to last.
Investors now expect that the Fed will delay a rate cut until September instead of July, as they had before the war in Iran began.
The Gulf conflict has led to higher fuel prices, and the cost of operating a plane has sharply increased. For travelers, that likely means higher fares.
The price of jet fuel and diesel has surged since the war in Iran began, which could force airlines and trucking companies to pass on higher costs to their customers.
The president said the U.S. could accompany tankers through the Strait of Hormuz if necessary to keep oil flowing. “We’ve already won in many ways, but we haven’t won enough,” he said.
Oil prices and stocks initially swung wildly, and Iran’s foreign minister promised “surprises,” calling the strikes against his country “Operation Epic Mistake.”