Iran Says Hormuz Mines Hit Tankers. Wednesday’s Crude Prices Split.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Tuesday that mines stopped three tankers on routes Tehran called unauthorized in the Strait of Hormuz, and that two were set ablaze. The statement was posted on the Guards’ Sepah News site. It is an official claim of a serious incident, not independent proof that the strait has closed.

Settlements on Wednesday, October 21, went in different directions. Brent crude futures finished 3 cents higher at $108.82 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures finished 67 cents lower at $97.15. Goldman Sachs, in a Tuesday note cited by CNBC, put the average cost of shipping crude above $20 a barrel, versus about $3 a year earlier, with about $7 of the increase tied to Hormuz war-risk cover. The bank said high freight could eventually raise refined-fuel prices. That remains a warning. No U.S. gasoline increase was tied to Wednesday’s settlement.

Did the reported Hormuz mines raise U.S. gasoline on Wednesday? No gasoline increase was established. Futures finished mixed, and the demonstrated pressure is in shipping costs.