Brent crude climbed toward $111 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate topped $107 on 18 May, extending a three-day rally that has added almost 8% since the previous week, according to livemint.com.
The advance followed a weekend in which President Donald Trump warned on social media that “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking” and urged Tehran to “get moving, FAST.” Traders said the lack of any breakthrough during Trump’s two-day summit with China’s Xi Jinping in Beijing left the crucial Strait of Hormuz still largely closed to commercial traffic, keeping roughly a fifth of global seaborne oil supply off the market, according to livemint.com.
The price spike pushes Brent to its highest level since late 2022 and widens the premium over Dubai sour crude to more than $6, a gap last seen during the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Indian refiners, which import 85% of their needs and rely heavily on Middle Eastern barrels transiting Hormuz, now face an import bill that could rise by $3–4 billion a month if the disruption persists, according to industry estimates cited by livemint.com. European utilities are also scrambling to lock in winter distillate cargoes before sanctions on Russian fuel tighten further in July.
Negotiators from Washington and Tehran are expected to meet again in Muscat later this week, with the White House insisting that any deal must reopen the strait within seven days and cap Iranian enrichment at 20%. Shipping insurers say they will not resume coverage for vessels calling at Gulf terminals until military escorts are in place, a process that could take at least two weeks even if a political agreement is reached, according to livemint.com.