The war has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important oil route, since the end of February and cut exports from OPEC+ members Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and Iraq.
The CPI data due this month will be the first hard measure of American consumer prices since the Strait of Hormuz became a conflict zone, and every early signal points to a number that will shock people who stopped paying attention to energy transmission mechanisms after 2022.
The global impact of the war in Iran has caused the average price of gasoline in the United States to rise above $4 per gallon for the first time since 2022. Prices have risen by more than 30% since late February, reflecting an energy shock affecting the entire economy.
Citi's upgrade reflects a broader geopolitical reality reshaping global energy markets. The Iran war is accelerating the flight of European and Asian buyers toward secure, long-term U.S. LNG supply contracts.
Energy companies and the oil market were a key focus after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a weekend raid. The price of U.S. crude jumped 1.4% to $58.13 per barrel. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, rose 1.2% to $61.50 per barrel. President Donald Trump has floated a plan for U.S. oil companies to help rebuild Venezuela's oil industry. Chevron surged 5% and Exxon Mobil rose 2% for some of the strongest gains in the market.
In a Saturday press conference addressing America's military intervention, Trump said, "We're going to have our very large United States oil companies-the biggest anywhere in the world-go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure." While the president did not name any specific companies, based on premarket trading this morning, investors seem to think that the following oil and energy giants stand to benefit from the intervention:
