Oil Prices See Biggest Daily Spike in 5 Years

The renewed war in the Strait of Hormuz has resulted in a quick spike in oil prices: Brent crude, the global benchmark, climbed above $85 a barrel on Tuesday for the first time in a month, reports the New York Times. The price rose 3% to about $86 after a nearly 10% jump Monday—the largest percentage gain in more than five years, notes the Wall Street Journal. The price is now roughly 17% above its prewar level, and analysts expect it to rise to $95 soon as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slows again.

"The chance of the region and Hormuz going back to the old normal is effectively zero," Rachel Ziemba of the Center for a New American Security, a Washington-based think tank, tells the Journal. At the pump, US drivers are already feeling it: Average gasoline prices are now at $3.86 a gallon, up from $3.79 a week ago and nearly 30% higher since the war started, according to AAA.