Iran News Updates

A decision to tap the Energy Department’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve could help stanch price spikes, at least temporarily. The reserve currently holds about 415 million barrels.

Shipowners and brokers are demanding more than $200,000 a day for LNG tankers in the Atlantic Basin, roughly double what they were commanding less than a day earlier, according to sources.

“It’s the rockets and feathers effect,” said Christopher Knittel, professor of energy economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “When things are going up — they go up fast.”

Soy rose to its highest level in more than two years after strikes by the U.S. and Israel on Iran. Contracts in Chicago surged as much as 3.9% before paring some gains.

The most immediate impact from the escalating Middle East conflict is through market reaction as investors take flight to safe havens such as the dollar and gold, while stocks slump.

Runaway freight is one of the most tangible market responses to a conflict that began on Feb. 28 and culminated with the vital Strait of Hormuz choke point all-but closing to tanker traffic.

With the U.S. amassing forces in the Middle East and President Donald Trump saying Iran had 10 to 15 days at most to reach a deal over its nuclear program, rates look likely to go higher still.

Oil gained the most since October as traders weighed whether talks between the U.S. and Iran will be enough to avert conflict.

The warning comes just days after U.S. and Iranian officials held diplomatic talks in Oman on Feb. 6, following President Donald Trump’s repeated threats on Tehran with airstrikes.

An oil exchange-traded fund posted its biggest daily inflow since the pandemic as investors bet that prices will continue to rally as tensions between the U.S. and Iran simmer.