Oil Prices Soar as Strait of Hormuz Concerns Weigh on Markets

Oil prices surged on Thursday, August 6, as concerns about a potential ban on US and Israeli vessels using the Strait of Hormuz weighed on global markets. The main oil contracts rose sharply, with Brent crude adding nearly four percent and WTI increasing by nearly three percent.

Again Capital's John Kilduff said that the situation is 'far from settled' and that market optimism had been dampened. He noted that traders were taking back some of their earlier hopes for a resolution to the Strait of Hormuz issue.

The rebound in oil prices had a negative impact on US equity markets, with the Dow retreating from its record close and the Nasdaq ending flat. The European main indices also closed mixed, with London's FTSE 100 losing 0.2 percent while Frankfurt and Paris climbed modestly.