{
  "id": 2143590,
  "title": "Oil surges nearly 3 per cent as US tightens pressure on Iran after Hormuz deal expires",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/oil-surges-nearly-3-per-cent-as-us-tightens-pressure-on-iran-after",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-20T13:26:24.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National UAE",
    "slug": "the-national-uae",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/energy/2026/08/20/oil-surges-nearly-3-per-cent-as-us-tightens-pressure-on-iran-after-hormuz-deal-expires/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Oil prices surged nearly 3% on Thursday, continuing a five-day upward trend. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 2.56% to around $94 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate increased 2.57% to $88.40. This jump came after US President Donald Trump announced steps to ramp up economic pressure on Iran and limit its oil shipments, branding the campaign as \"economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale\". The 60-day interim deal between the US and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz ended on Sunday, and President Trump stated there were no plans to renew it. The strait, which carries around a fifth of global oil and gas supplies, remains effectively blocked, with traffic far below pre-war levels. In fact, traffic through the Strait of Hormuz dropped to single digits before recovering to 12 commodity ships on August 19, according to Kpler data. Analyst Giovanni Staunovo from UBS noted that tensions in the Middle East remain high, posing the risk of additional supply disruptions. Lower oil exports from the Middle East are once again straining the oil market. Iran's oil exports through the strait have plummeted by up to 97% from their peak post-Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as the agreement fell apart and the US reestablished its blockade on Iranian ports. Volumes fell to just 46,800 barrels per day (bpd) in the week of August 10, from 1.545 million bpd in the week of June 29, according to Kpler. Iran's central bank chief, Abdolnaser Hemmati, confirmed on Thursday that the OPEC producer is not exporting any oil, stating that there is no doubt about the restrictions on oil exports. He added that it is a reality that Iran is not exporting oil.",
  "summary": "Oil prices surged nearly 3 per cent on Thursday, extending a five-day rally as the expiry of a US-Iran memorandum of understanding and renewed pressure from Washington raised fears of further supply disruptions. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 2.56 per cent to about $94 a barrel by 3.56pm UAE time, while West Texas Intermediate gained 2.57 per cent to $88.40. Prices climbed after US…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The National UAE",
        "title": "Gulf states push to break Iran deadlock and reopen Strait of Hormuz",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/gulf-states-push-to-break-iran-deadlock-and-reopen-strait-of-hormuz",
        "published": "2026-08-20T12:40:40.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Gulf News",
        "title": "Hormuz paradox: Why flowing oil could prolong Iran war",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/hormuz-paradox-why-flowing-oil-could-prolong-iran-war",
        "published": "2026-08-20T13:31:36.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}