Ormuz crisis pushes oil, gas and electricity prices higher

Iranian attacks on two Emirati tankers in the Strait of Ormuz on 14 July sent Brent crude above $86 per barrel and WTI past $80, sparking a sharp rise in European energy markets. The Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) gas price jumped more than 8 % and Spain’s wholesale electricity price rose over 12 %, prompting higher bills for roughly 10 million regulated‑tariff consumers.

The strait carries around 20 million barrels of oil and about 20 % of global LNG each day. Recent hostilities have cut traffic to just a few vessels, with daily oil flows falling to about 2.7 million barrels. Strategic oil reserves are being drawn down; the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve sits at its lowest level since 1983, and the International Energy Agency warns that emergency stocks are running out.

Fuel prices are also climbing at the pump. In France gasoline and diesel have again breached the €2‑per‑liter mark, while in the Czech Republic gasoline and diesel remain elevated due to the same supply squeeze. The lack of viable alternative routes—only limited pipelines in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and no land‑based options for Qatar’s LNG—means the market remains vulnerable to further disruptions.

Overall, the Ormuz blockage is feeding higher transport, industrial and food‑production costs worldwide, adding pressure to inflation and monetary policy in multiple economies.