US crude futures exploded more than 20% Monday to their highest since July 2022, with West Texas Intermediate rocketing as much as $20.34 per barrel to $111.24 amid panic over the expanding US-Israeli war with Iran strangling the Strait of Hormuz oil artery.
WTI settled up 16.31% at $105.73 after Friday’s 12% leap, capping a 36% weekly frenzy as Tehran’s hardliner succession and Israeli Beirut strikes signal no quick end to supply nightmares.
Traders bid WTI up 22.4% intraday to $111.24 before settling $14.83 higher at $105.73 by 2220 GMT, reflecting sheer terror over Hormuz—the chokepoint funneling one-fifth of global oil. Friday’s 12% surge already priced in war risks; Monday’s blast came as Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei supreme leader, cementing defiant regime control.
Iran’s clerical council vote for Ali Khamenei’s son—architect of security forces and business empires—dashed hopes of moderation a week into devastating US-Israeli airstrikes. The hardliner handover signals prolonged resistance, keeping Hormuz contested and tankers docked. Oil markets now bake in extended disruptions from damaged facilities to shipping insurance meltdowns.
