Oil near $96 a barrel as US escorts tankers through Strait of Hormuz

Oil prices held near multi-month highs Thursday as U.S. forces escorted commercial tankers through the Strait of Hormuz during renewed fighting with Iran, market reports said.

Brent crude traded near $96 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate near $92 after a sharp weekly climb. Brent was up about 7% for the week. WTI was up about 9.8%. The Economic Times summarized the move alongside Reuters energy coverage of shipping risk in the Gulf.

U.S. officials said American forces escorted about 40 vessels carrying roughly 18 million barrels on a Tuesday transit. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said average flows near 8 million barrels a day have continued under escort operations meant to keep commercial traffic moving. President Donald Trump said U.S. strikes hit Iranian radar and missile systems and that the campaign would not last too long. Vice President JD Vance said there would be no talks unless Iran stops attacking shipping.

Shippers buy war-risk insurance when lanes look contested, and those premiums show up in landed crude costs even when barrels still move. Futures traders also price the chance of a wider closure, which can lift front-month contracts faster than physical shortages appear at U.S. pumps.

JPMorgan analysts estimated continued disruption could add about $7 to $8 a month to typical U.S. household energy costs if the risk premium sticks. Pump prices usually lag crude by days to a couple of weeks. Airlines, trucking firms and chemical makers also reprice quickly when Brent holds above the mid-$90s.

The strait remains a chokepoint for seaborne crude leaving the Gulf. Escort operations lower some transit risk for shippers but do not erase insurance costs or trader caution. Drivers and retirees on fixed budgets should expect volatility at the pump until shipping lanes stabilize and futures markets fade the war premium. Filling up earlier in the week and combining errands can blunt some of the household hit while prices chop around.