- Oil prices surged above $100 a barrel after President Trump announced a US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, effective from Monday.
- The threat to stop tankers from entering or leaving the vital shipping lane, which handles a fifth of the world's oil supply, follows the failure of talks with Iran.
- Global stock markets and oil prices reacted with less intensity than at the start of the conflict, with the FTSE 100 experiencing only a 0.4 per cent drop.
- Analysts suggest the muted market response is partly due to investors' wariness of President Trump's tendency to change positions, viewing the blockade threat as a potential negotiation tactic.
- Despite a recent ceasefire that temporarily lowered Brent crude prices, they have since risen, and heating oil prices in the UK remain significantly elevated compared to pre-war levels.
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