Brent crude jumped to $119 a barrel, US gasoline at highest since 2022

Brent crude oil with delivery in June jumped in trading on April 29 above $118 per barrel and at one point broke through the $119.45 mark. This, Reuters and the Financial Times note, is the highest level for Brent in the past month. Also, the average price of gasoline in the United States has increased to the maximum since July 2022, writes Yahoo Finance. According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the national average price of gasoline rose to nearly $4.23 per gallon, up about $0.12 over the past two days and more than a dollar higher than a year ago.

June U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures, meanwhile, rose 6.3% to $106.25 a barrel on April 29, the highest since April 13.

Such dynamics markets demonstrate such dynamics amid the protracted standoff between the US and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, points out the FT. US President Donald Trump called on Iran to "sooner show prudence" and sign an agreement that will end the war. Trump also discussed with U.S. oil companies on Tuesday ways to mitigate the impact of a potential months-long U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, adding to investor fears that disruptions to Middle East oil supplies could linger, Reuters writes. The agency estimates that the market has already been short of oil supplies by more than $50 billion since the war began by mid-April.

In addition, Trump told Axios that he will not lift the naval blockade of Iranian ports until he gets Tehran to reach an agreement on its nuclear program. "The blockade is in some ways more effective than bombing. They are panting like a fattened pig. And it's only going to get worse for them from here on. They can't have nuclear weapons," the president said in a telephone interview with the publication. He clarified that he rejected Iran's recent offer to reopen the strait because it implied that nuclear talks would be postponed to a later date. Although Trump has said he will stick to the blockade, the U.S. military has prepared a plan for a series of strikes on Iran to increase pressure on Tehran, Axios sources said.

In addition, in the U.S. there were signs of a decline in the supply of oil products, notes Reuters. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that crude oil inventories in the country last week decreased by more than 6 million barrels, while analysts expected a decrease of only about 200 thousand barrels. At the same time, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company notified some customers that it will be able to ship two grades of crude (Das and Upper Zakum) outside the Persian Gulf next month as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, Reuters sources said. Such bypass shipments increase the cost of oil products, the agency explained.

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