NEW YORK, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Crude futures saw prices rise over 5 percent in the morning session on Wednesday amid reports that U.S. President Donald Trump told aides and energy companies to prepare for an extended blockade of Iran's ports.
As of 10 a.m. Eastern Time (1400 GMT), West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for June delivery reached as high as 105.04 U.S. dollars per barrel, up 5.11 dollars or about 5.11 percent from the settlement on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Brent crude oil futures for June delivery saw a high of 117.15 dollars per barrel, up 5.89 dollars or 5.29 percent from the settlement in the previous session.
"Iran can't get their act together. They don't know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They better get smart soon!" Trump said in a post on social media early Wednesday.
Earlier, media reports said that Trump had instructed his administration to prepare for an extended blockade of Iran as the ceasefire remains in place amid stalled talks.
"The ongoing stalemate in U.S.-Iran negotiations makes any near-term normalization of flows through Hormuz increasingly unlikely," said Linh Tran, an analyst with online trading platform XS.com. "The market is no longer simply pricing in risk, but rather a prolonged period of supply disruption." ■
