An extraordinary turn of events now unfolds in the Middle East. The concealed frustration and antagonism between those supposedly adhering to the memorandum of understanding, finally found its way into military expression. We discuss below how predictions are assumptive, but this deterioration in diplomacy and acceleration in weapons exchange has caught the market a little on the hop.
It did not take long for the recent state of tetchiness in negotiations between the United Sates of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran to turn into shooting once again. Over the weekend the US said it carried out 140 strikes on Iranian infrastructure on Saturday and again there were more strikes again on Sunday. Iran has returned the favour by hitting out at US allies in the area and the whole sorry repetitive circus is once again amongst us. The quibble from any oil watcher’s perspective is how any of this affects the running of oil cargoes through the Strait of Hormuz.
Although traffic through the Strait of Hormuz came to a virtual standstill yesterday following the latest flare-up in hostilities between Iran and the US, oil investors remained admirably relaxed, or even nonchalant, about the situation. On the other hand, they are clearly worried, though not about supply disruptions but about demand destruction.
Parameta Solutions, the data and analytics arm of TP ICAP, delivers global energy and commodities market data sourced directly from PVM. This empowers traders, analysts, and risk managers to optimise hedging strategies, price contracts and reduce risk exposure.
Discover more about accessing their energy, commodities, and real-time oil data.
Copyright © 2026 TP ICAP