Oil prices surged on the first day of Trump’s ‘Project Freedom’ plan to unblock Hormuz

(John Liu – CNN) Oil hit its highest price of the year on the first day of President Donald Trump’s operation to guide stranded ships through the blocked Strait of Hormuz, underscoring the intense uncertainty that still dogs the global energy trade. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, slid 1.1% to $113.4 a barrel as of 1:58 am ET on Tuesday, after surging 5.8% to close at $114.4 on Monday –– the highest closing in 2026. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US benchmark, declined 2.1% to $104.3 a barrel. Oil is traded as a futures contract, which means an agreement to buy or sell at a specified price on a future date. Tuesday’s WTI price reflects oil for delivery in June, whereas Brent reflects oil for delivery in July. Being the world’s largest oil producer has not exempted the US from an energy shock, which has pushed the price of gasoline to $4.46 a gallon on Monday from an average of $2.98 a gallon before the war started, according to AAA. – Oil prices surged on the first day of Trump’s ‘Project Freedom’ plan to unblock Hormuz | CNN Business