• WTI Oil appreciates above $80.00 for the first time in one month, and is 18% above early July lows.
• US and Iran have ramped up their attacks, and the US military resumed the blockade of Iranian ports.
• Trump offered a 20% fee on cargo for protection to ships aiming to cross the waterway.

Oil prices extend gains on Tuesday, with the barrel of the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) consolidating at one-month highs in the $80.00 area, trading about 18% above the lows seen in early July.

The escalating tensions between the US and Iran keep buoying Crude prices, as rival countries exchanged attacks for the sixth consecutive day on Monday, while the US military announced the return of the blockade for ships going in and out of Iran.

Sea traffic through Hormuz halts

Traffic through the sea corridor has plunged amid the recent resumption of hostilities and reports of attacks on vessels trying to sail through the strait. US President Donald Trump offered protection in exchange for a 20% fee on cargo, ultimately contributing to accelerate the recovery of Crude Oil prices.

The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz is closed to commercial traffic “until further notice”, and claimed responsibility for disabling two supertankers that ignored warnings and attempted to sail through a mined route,

The US administration tried to assure that Crude Oil flows through the waterway continue, but figures from sea traffic tracking sites show that the number of ships crossing Hormuz has declined to the levels seen before the ceasefire or even lower.

Later on the day, the American Petroleum Institute (API) will release its weekly Crude Oil stocks report, which is expected to show that commercial Oil reserves fell by 2.7 million barrels the week of July. This would be the 13th consecutive drawdown of Crude stockpiles, and will, highly likely, increase concerns about the economic consequences on an Oil shortage.