TLDR:
- Oil prices topped $100 per barrel Monday for the first time since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine
- President Trump says the price spike is a “small price to pay” for eliminating Iran’s nuclear threat
- Qatar warns oil could surge to $150 per barrel if the Strait of Hormuz stays blocked
- The Dow dropped 400 points Monday as markets were rattled by Middle East conflict and energy fears
Oil prices blew past $100 a barrel Monday for the first time in four years — and President Trump is telling Americans the pain at the pump is worth it.
West Texas Intermediate crude spiked above $100 per barrel, a level not seen since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Prices have surged 35% in just the past week, rattled by fighting in the Middle East after Mr. Trump ordered joint U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran on Feb. 28.
“Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social late Sunday.
The ripple effects hit Wall Street hard. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened down 400 points Monday, with other major indexes falling more than 1%.
It could get worse. Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi warned Friday that prices could reach $150 per barrel if traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — a critical chokepoint for global oil tankers — remains disrupted.
The Trump administration announced a reinsurance program for ships navigating the conflict zone and said the U.S. Navy may escort vessels through the strait.
Read more:
• Trump says high oil prices, surging past $100 a barrel, ’small price to pay’ amid Iran war
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