Oil prices moderate as Iran supply fears persist; Trump talks Hormuz intervention in Oil & Companies News 17/03/2026 Oil prices pared back earlier gains in whipsaw trade on Monday, as markets remained largely on edge over more supply disruptions stemming from the U.S.-Israel war on Iran. Crude had briefly fallen after U.S. President Donald Trump called on other countries, including China, to help restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. — the global benchmark — rose 0.2% to $103.41 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures slipped 0.5% to $96.40 a barrel by 06:28 ET (10:28 GMT). Oil had earlier risen as much as 3%. Trump calls for international help in Strait of Hormuz Trump over the weekend called on support from other countries to help police the Strait of Hormuz and keep trade through the waterway open. He said on Sunday that the White House was in talks with seven countries on the matter, and had also approached China over intervention. Trump said keeping the strait — which accounts for a fifth of the world’s oil supplies — would be a “very small endeavor,” claiming that Iran had limited firepower left after a series of U.S. and Israeli attacks. In a Financial Times interview, Trump also issued a warning to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization if member countries did not send help in Iran. But reports said Japan and Australia both declined to send warships to the strait, which has been effectively shuttered by the threat of projectile strikes against tanker traffic. Container shipping companies have reconsidered sending vessels through the strait, with worries surrounding the safety of crews and firms struggling to find insurance for the crossings. Meanwhile, officials in the United Arab Emirates said its oil-industry zone in Fujairah had been hit by a second drone strike in as many days. No injuries were reported, according to authorities cited by the Wall Street Journal. U.S. officials continued to claim that the Iran war will end quickly. But Tehran has said that it remains ready to fight, and that the waterway will stay closed until U.S. and Israeli attacks on the country cease. U.S. attacks key Iranian oil export hub The Iran conflict showed few signs of de-escalation over the weekend, after U.S. forces attacked Kharg Island, a hub for 90% of Iran’s oil exports. President Donald Trump said that the attack had only targeted military assets on the island off the coast of Iran, and threatened to hit its oil infrastructure next. Iran retaliated by launching a wave of missile and drone strikes across the Persian Gulf on Sunday, targeting major population centers and American military assets. Elsewhere, the International Energy Agency said over the weekend that it will begin releasing 411.9 million barrels of oil from its emergency reserves, as it moves to offset potential supply shocks from the Iran conflict. Source: Investing.com 2026-03-17 hellenicshippingnews... window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("