Iran News Updates

Exxon, which also said first-quarter earnings from its energy-products division would be lower, is among the first of the supermajors to disclose the war’s impact.

The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude climbed 3.9% to $116.83. Brent crude, the international standard, added 0.7% to $110.55.

But now that a plan to bring prices down is in motion, new challenges have emerged that threaten to blunt its impact. 

Constraints in infrastructure and supply are likely to keep U.S. oil flows well below headline capacity figures often cited at around 10 million barrels a day.

President Trump said April 6 that reopening the strait was “a very big priority,” despite also saying in recent weeks that it wasn’t among the core objectives.

Freight costs for very large crude carriers have surged. That’s creating a drag on export economics even as dock and pipeline capacities remain available.

The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 0.3% to $111.88 after erasing an earlier modest dip. Brent crude added 0.2% to $109.26 per barrel.

The Institute for Supply Management’s gauge of prices paid for services and materials jumped to 70.7, the highest since October 2022.

Key producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed to increase targets for May by about 206,000 barrels a day.