- Title: Analyst urges de-escalation as Hormuz shutdown chokes global oil flows
- Date: 6th March 2026
- Summary: NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, UNITED STATES (MARCH 6, 2026) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) WATER TOWER RESEARCH, MANAGING DIRECTOR & STRATEGIST, NATURAL RESOURCES, RICHARD TULLIS (pronounce 'tuhlees'), SAYING: "Less financial involvement and more, maybe military involvement as far as helping to secure the strait and allow tankers to move through with escorts. I think that
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: Brent Iraq President Donald Trump Qatar Strait of Hormuz U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude US-Israeli conflict with Iran oil prices oil production and transport oil tankers supply concerns
- Location: VARIOUS
- City: VARIOUS
- Country: US
- Topics: Commodities Markets,Economic Events,North America
- Reuters ID: LVA00E168906032026RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Oil prices continued to rally on Friday (March 6) on growing disruption to global oil supplies caused by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, with U.S. futures prices rising faster than the international benchmark Brent futures as Washington said it may take action in the futures market to combat rising energy prices.
The U.S. Treasury Department may take action in the oil futures market as part of measures to combat rising energy prices, a senior White House official said.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday (March 5) he was not concerned about rising U.S. gas prices driven by the widening Iran conflict, telling Reuters in an exclusive interview that the U.S. military operation was his priority. Trump also said that the United States wanted to be involved in choosing Iran's next leader.
Iraq and Qatar have already shut in oil and gas production due to the shipping paralysis through the Strait of Hormuz. Iraq shut down nearly 1.5 million barrels per day of crude production because it is running out of storage for the oil it produces, without oil tankers to take it away. Qatar has shut down its production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the same reason- LNG tankers cannot traverse the Hormuz shipping chokepoint. Kuwait and the UAE could be next to cut supply as storage space runs out, according to analysts, traders, and sources.
Around a fifth of global oil flows through the Strait.
Attacks on oil tankers continued in the Gulf, as the Bahamas-flagged crude oil tanker Sonangol Namibe reported its hull was breached after a blast near Iraq's port of Khor al Zubair.
Those attacks, along with Chinese measures to reduce fuel exports, pushed prices higher, said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. The refined product market is also showing signs of stress due to missing Middle East exports, he added.
Some oil refineries in the Middle East, China, and India shut their crude units because of the conflict in the Middle East.
As a result of a lower supply outlook in fuel markets, U.S. diesel futures HOc1 jumped 10%, reaching just over $3.60 a gallon during the session.
Around 300 oil tankers remained inside the Strait of Hormuz after vessel traffic in and out of the chokepoint nearly halted following the outbreak of war, according to ship tracking data from Vortexa and Kpler that excludes some of the smallest tankers.
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