Oil prices jump after Trump says Iranian ship seized
Online Desk
20 Apr 2026 07:47 AM । Update: 20 Apr 2026 07:48 AM
Global oil prices jumped in Monday morning trade in Asia after President Donald Trump said the US has intercepted and seized an Iran-flagged cargo ship.
It came after Iran said on Saturday that it was closing the Strait of Hormuz waterway again to commercial vessels and that any ship that approaches it would be targeted, reports BBC.
Brent crude futures were up by 6.4% at $96.13 (£71.27), while West Texas Intermediate was 7.5% higher at $90.15.
Energy markets have seen wild swings since the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February and Tehran responded with threats to target shipping in the waterway, through which about 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) passes through.
Earlier, Trump said his representatives would be in Pakistan on Monday for negotiations. A White House official said Vice-President JD Vance would lead the US delegation
But Iran's state media said Tehran had "no plans for now to participate" in the talks, although Iranian officials have not clarified the country's position yet.
"Oil markets continue to gyrate in response to oscillating social media posts by the US and Iran, rather than the realities on the ground which remain challenging for oil flows to resume in a rapid fashion", analyst Saul Kavonic from financial services firm MST Marquee told the BBC.
"This is all part of negotiations, physically playing out in real time on the Strait of Hormuz."
The Strait of Hormuz remained closed on Sunday, a day after the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said it was ending a temporary reopening over the US blockade, which it said violated the terms of their ceasefire agreement. Iran said it would stay closed until the US ended its naval blockade.
Trump had on Friday said that the naval blockade would continue until a deal was agreed by the two countries.
