{"id":124867,"date":"2026-03-23T11:37:34","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T07:37:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/?p=124867"},"modified":"2026-03-23T11:37:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T07:37:37","slug":"oil-holds-near-highs-as-trump-issues-ultimatum-over-strait-of-hormuz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/oil-holds-near-highs-as-trump-issues-ultimatum-over-strait-of-hormuz\/03\/23\/market-updates\/","title":{"rendered":"Oil Holds Near Highs as Trump Issues Ultimatum Over Strait of Hormuz"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oil prices traded in volatile fashion on Monday, hovering near recent peaks as geopolitical tensions escalated sharply following a 48-hour ultimatum from U.S. President Donald Trump to Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By <strong>00:26 ET (04:26 GMT)<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Brent crude<\/strong> rose <strong>0.6% to $112.91 per barrel<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>WTI crude<\/strong> gained <strong>0.8% to $99.05 per barrel<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Trump ultimatum escalates tensions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the weekend, Trump warned that Iran must reopen the <strong>Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours<\/strong>, or face severe military action targeting its critical energy infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tehran responded with defiance, signaling it could <strong>fully shut the strait<\/strong> and expand attacks on energy and water facilities across neighboring Gulf states. Reports also indicated renewed missile strikes on Israel early Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ultimatum marked a sharp escalation, especially after earlier signals from Washington suggesting a possible de-escalation of the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hormuz disruption keeps oil elevated<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Iran has effectively <strong>blocked the Strait of Hormuz<\/strong> since the start of the conflict in late February. The waterway is one of the most critical global energy chokepoints, handling roughly <strong>20% of global oil consumption<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The disruption has already triggered a major supply shock:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Oil prices surged close to <strong>$120 per barrel earlier in March<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Flows through the strait are estimated to be running at just <strong>~5% of normal levels<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Even with temporary measures\u2014such as a <strong>30-day U.S. waiver allowing purchases of Iranian oil already at sea<\/strong>\u2014markets remain on edge over prolonged supply constraints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">IEA warns of historic-scale crisis<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>International Energy Agency (IEA) head <strong>Fatih Birol<\/strong> warned that the current crisis could surpass the severity of the <strong>1973 and 1979 oil shocks<\/strong>, highlighting the scale of disruption facing global energy markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Goldman Sachs raises oil outlook<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Reflecting growing structural risks, <strong>Goldman Sachs<\/strong> raised its oil price forecasts for the second time in two weeks:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Brent forecast (March\u2013April):<\/strong> $110\/barrel (up from $98)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>2026 Brent forecast:<\/strong> $85\/barrel (previously $77)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>2026 WTI forecast:<\/strong> $79\/barrel (previously $72)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The bank expects:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A <strong>six-week period of severely reduced flows<\/strong> through Hormuz<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Followed by a <strong>gradual recovery over one month<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Continued pricing of a <strong>significant geopolitical risk premium<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Outlook<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>With supply disruptions persisting, military threats escalating, and no clear diplomatic resolution in sight, oil markets are likely to remain highly volatile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The next 48 hours\u2014given the U.S. ultimatum\u2014could prove decisive, potentially determining whether the market faces a temporary shock or a prolonged energy crisis with global economic consequences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Oil prices traded in volatile fashion on Monday, hovering near recent peaks as geopolitical tensions escalated sharply following a 48-hour ultimatum from U.S. President Donald Trump to Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. By 00:26 ET (04:26 GMT): Brent crude rose 0.6% to $112.91 per barrel WTI crude gained 0.8% to $99.05 per barrel &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":60920,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-commodities-news","category-market-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124867"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124867\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124868,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124867\/revisions\/124868"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}