Bobby Cook
Oil prices spike as Iran tensions resurface, with Brent crude jumping 6% to $74.50 a barrel after President Donald Trump declared that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran was over, just 18 days into what had been billed as a 60 day truce.
The move rattled a market that had spent weeks pricing in de escalation. Traders had grown accustomed to falling pump prices; now they are recalculating risk premiums tied to the Strait of Hormuz, a corridor that carries roughly 20% of global oil supply. Gas prices, which typically lag crude by days or weeks, ticked up modestly on the news. AAA put the national average for regular gasoline at $3.80 a gallon, down slightly from $3.85 a week earlier and well below last month's $4.16, but the direction of travel is now in question.
Why the ceasefire collapsed so quickly
The truce, agreed June 19, was never built on solid footing. Washington struck Iranian targets on June 26 in response to what it described as Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. That single episode exposed how thin the margin for error was. At the NATO summit, Trump signaled that while U.S. negotiators would keep trying to salvage a broader deal, his own patience had run out. He called Iran's leadership
Christina Shaw
Roberto Anderson
Franklin Gonzales