Oil up 8%, stock futures fall after U.S.-Iran talks fail

Oil and gas prices rose sharply, while futures on U.S. stock indices declined in early trading after the weekend. Market volatility increased amid the failure of the US-Iran talks and Donald Trump's threat to block the Strait of Hormuz.

- Brent crude futures for delivery in June rose more than 7% to $102.5 per barrel. The cost of WTI crude with delivery in May rose by 8% to $104.4.

- Gas futures in Europe jumped 18% following oil.

- Futures on the Nasdaq Composite index were down 1.1%. Futures on the S&P 500 broad market index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average blue-chip index were losing 0.9% each.

The U.S. and Iran failed to reach an agreement at talks in Pakistan on April 11. Washington said that Tehran refused to accept U.S. conditions, including a commitment not to develop nuclear weapons. Iran, in turn, called the US demands "excessive." The next day, Trump said he ordered the US Navy to block the Strait of Hormuz and also threatened to intercept in international waters all ships that would pay Iran for transit through the strait. The blockade will apply only to ships entering or leaving Iranian ports and will begin at 10:00 a.m. New York time on April 13, U.S. Central Command said.

In response, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that approaching the strait with warships "under any pretext" would be considered a ceasefire violation, Bloomberg reported.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's oil and gas exports normally pass, was effectively blocked by Iran after the war began in late February. According to Bloomberg, while about 135 ships a day passed through the strait before the war, the number dropped to just a handful after the conflict began.

Iran continues to transport oil through the Strait of Hormuz. According to preliminary estimates by Bloomberg, Tehran exported about 1.7 million barrels of oil and condensate per day in March. In addition, Iran issued several transit permits - in particular, to tankers from Pakistan, India and Iraq. Several Greek tankers with turned off transponders also crossed the strait, the agency writes.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor