Trump announces a blockade of Iranian ports
April 13, 2026
The weekend ceasefire talks ended without a deal, and President Trump announced a blockade of all vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that any military vessel attempting to approach the Strait of Hormuz will be considered a violation of the two-week ceasefire and be dealt with harshly and decisively.
Of course, this news caused the Sunday night opening of the markets to be higher, and prices are still trading higher but have not gotten back to the highs put in early last week.
Both Brent crude oil and WTI crude oil did run up above $100 dollars per barrel on the news, but physical traders warn that even these headline numbers understate the real disruption: physical oil is already trading at premiums to up to $50 above the benchmarks as refineries scramble for supply,
JPMorgan analysts flagged April 20 as a critical date that is when the last tanker that cleared Hormuz before the war closed the strait are expected to reach their destinations, at which point the pre-closure supply buffer is fully exhausted. JPMorgan said that the situation is more dangerous today than at any point since the ceasefire was announced.
OPEC lowered its second-quarter global demand forecast by 500,000 bpd due to the conflict, while Saudi Arabia said it has restored full pumping capacity through its East-West pipeline to 7 million bpd.
Baker Hughs reported that oil rigs were unchanged at 411. Last year at this time there were 472 oil rigs.