Trump Orders 20 Percent Hormuz Cargo Fee as Oil Nears 85 Dollars

Crude oil rose on Tuesday after President Donald Trump said the United States would charge a fee "at the rate of 20 percent on all cargo shipped" through the Strait of Hormuz and would move to reinstate a blockade of Iranian ports. Brent crude for September delivery traded near 84.84 dollars a barrel, extending a gain of about 9.6 percent from the previous session, according to Al Jazeera.

The Financial Times reported that the fee demand accompanied a third night of United States air strikes. The United Arab Emirates Defense Ministry confirmed that two of its tankers, the Mombasa and the Al Bahiyah, were struck by Iranian cruise missiles in the southern lane of the strait, inside Omani territorial waters, killing one Indian crew member and injuring eight others, as reported by The Hill. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had targeted the vessels. Roughly a fifth of the world's seaborne oil passes through the channel. The United Nations' International Maritime Organization said it opposed charging fees for passage through straits used for international navigation, arguing there is no legal basis for a mandatory toll. Neither a formal toll on shipping nor a physical blockade has a modern precedent, so traders are pricing the risk that shipments are interrupted rather than any confirmed loss of supply.

The New York Times reported that Trump presented the fee as a cost imposed on Iran even as he said a negotiated settlement was still possible. That combination leaves investors unsure whether the move is escalation or a bargaining tactic. The United Arab Emirates condemned the attacks on vessels tied to its waters, a sign that Gulf producers see their own export routes exposed.