Oil prices briefly hit wartime high as Trump weighs new strikes on Iran

Oil prices surged to their highest level since the beginning of the US-Iran war early Thursday before retreating on the strength of fresh reports that President Trump could soon resume attacking the Islamic Republic.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude, the international benchmark, topped $126 per barrel shortly after midnight ET, hours after Trump indicated that he preferred to keep in place a weeks-long blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz.

“The blockade is genius, OK? The blockade has been 100% foolproof,” the president told reporters in the Oval Office Wednesday afternoon, adding of Iran: “Now, they have to cry ‘uncle,’ that’s all they have to do. Just say, ‘We give up.’”

Brent prices plunged to nearly $116 per barrel after Axios reported overnight that the head of US Central Command, Adm. Brad Cooper, would brief Trump at the White House Thursday on plans for a “short and powerful” wave of strikes aimed at forcing Iran to sue for peace and give up its nuclear ambitions.

The president had told the same outlet Wednesday morning that he believed the blockade to be “somewhat more effective than the bombing” and it was not immediately clear when any new strikes would take place.

“They are choking like a stuffed pig. And it is going to be worse for them,” Trump told Axios.

“They want to settle. They don’t want me to keep the blockade. I don’t want to [lift the blockade], because I don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon.”

The US and Iran have abided by a cease-fire since April 8, and Trump has repeatedly threatened renewed military action to force a breakthrough in indirect peace talks.

Meanwhile, the average price of a gallon of regular gas reached $4.30 Thursday, according to AAA, up from $4.03 one week ago as retailers grappled with disruptions to the global energy supply.

Outgoing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, in remarks to reporters Wednesday, defended the central bank’s decision to leave interest rates steady, noting that “we’re very well aware that people are experiencing higher gas prices all over the country now, and that hurts.

“Those hikes may continue to happen, and other things are going to start to reflect that. Airline fares I’ve mentioned and other products and services that are dependent upon petroleum and derivatives of petroleum. People are going to start to feel that.”