U.S.-Iran tensions escalated this week, reigniting supply disruption fears in the Strait of Hormuz and lifting oil prices and energy stocks. Brent crude futures rose to $91.87 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate advanced to $87.15 on Tuesday, adding to gains after both contracts settled about 3% higher in the previous session.
The flare-up followed U.S. strikes on Iranian military targets on Larak Island, the first confirmed American strike on Iran since late July and an end to weeks of relative calm. Iran retaliated with missile attacks on U.S. military facilities in Jordan, while the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported that a tanker was struck by three projectiles while transiting out of the strait under U.S. escort. The vessel was identified as the Saudi VLCC oil tanker SIDR, and no casualties or environmental damage were reported.
Shipping data from Kpler showed only five commodity vessels moving through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, well below the 10-day average of around 14, with none of the five being liquid tankers. ANZ analysts noted that oil flows through Hormuz are now around 6 million barrels per day, far below pre-conflict levels. The waterway carried roughly one-fifth of global oil supply before fighting broke out in late February, and mediation efforts by Qatar and Oman have so far failed to reopen it.
Supply buffers are also thinning. The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve dropped by about 3.1 million barrels last week to 286.6 million barrels, near its lowest level in 44 years. President Trump said oil from a new Venezuela deal would be used to help refill the reserve, though timing remains unclear. OPEC+ approved an additional production increase of around 188,000 barrels per day from September, completing its planned output rollback, while Russia extended its diesel export ban through September 30. Analysts polled by Reuters in August expect oil prices to remain above $80 a barrel for the rest of 2026.
Energy equities moved higher alongside crude. Halliburton opened at $36.19 on Monday and posted premarket gains of about 2.5%. The company reported Q2 earnings on July 21, beating expectations with EPS of $0.55 against a consensus estimate of $0.54 and revenue of $5.71 billion versus a $5.50 billion estimate, up 3.7% year over year. Halliburton declared a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share, payable September 23 with an ex-dividend date of September 2, equal to an annualized yield of about 1.9%. Analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus on the stock and an average price target of $43.10, compared with a current price of $36.19.
Institutional interest has also strengthened. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired 242,112 Halliburton shares worth about $8.2 million in Q2, BlackRock initiated a new position valued at more than $2.8 billion, and Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake by 21.1% to over 110 million shares. Institutional investors now own 85.23% of the company. Other energy names gained as well, with Chevron up 1.7%, Exxon Mobil up 1.5%, SLB up 1.7%, Marathon Petroleum up 0.6%, and Phillips 66 up 1%.
On the downside, insiders have trimmed positions. COO Jeffrey Slocum sold 52,572 shares on August 19 at $35.09 each, reducing his stake by 30.69%, while CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares in June at $35.89. Both transactions were executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said Washington plans to roll out new secondary sanctions against Iran on a weekly basis.
