• WTI jumps after Iran claims a supertanker hit naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
• Iran launched missile barrages toward the Strait to avenge a recent US strike on Larak Island.
• The US struck Iranian mine-laying positions, breaking a month-long pause in direct military action.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rebounds and continues its intraday gains, trading around $84.40 per barrel during the Asian hours on Monday. Crude oil prices spike following claims by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that a rogue supertanker caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz after hitting two naval mines along the waterway’s southern passage.

IRGC officials stated the vessel was attempting to pass through the strait illegally, adding a stern warning that all maritime traffic must strictly comply with Iranian rules for passage through the area.

In a sharp escalation, Iran launched a coordinated barrage of ballistic and anti-ship cruise missiles from multiple locations across the country, including Tehran, Lorestan, Karaj, Khorramabad, and Shiraz. Targeted toward positions in the Strait of Hormuz, the missile strikes were launched in direct response to an earlier United States strike on Iranian launcher facilities at Larak Island, which the IRGC vowed to avenge.

The preceding US military action targeted Iranian rocket sites prepared to lay naval mines in the strategic waterway, marking the first direct strike on Iranian military positions in over a month. While US forces maintained close monitoring of the Strait to safeguard global trade routes, the strike represented a sudden shift from Washington’s recent baseline strategy, which had largely relied on economic sanctions over direct force to push Tehran back to negotiations.

Brent gains seen capped as Persian Gulf exports recover

Brown Brothers Harriman cautions that, despite recent strength in Brent, “upside pressure on crude oil prices appears limited.” The firm points to Goldman Sachs estimates that “oil exports from the Persian Gulf have recovered to around two-thirds of pre-war levels as more vessels transit the Strait of Hormuz,” suggesting that improving regional supply dynamics are likely to temper further gains.

Technical Analysis:

In the daily chart, WTI US Oil trades at $84.40, maintaining a constructive bullish bias as price holds above both the short-term nine-period Exponential Moving Average (EMA) and the medium-term 50-period EMA. The alignment of price above these averages suggests a supportive trend structure, while the 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) at 55.13 stays in neutral-to-positive territory, hinting at steady upward momentum rather than overbought conditions.

On the downside, immediate support is seen at the nine-period EMA around $83.19 and the 50-period EMA near $81.82. As long as WTI holds above these clustered supports, pullbacks are likely to be treated as corrective pauses within the broader advance, leaving the path open for buyers to press the uptrend toward higher levels once fresh resistance is defined by future price action.