Fox’s Liz Claman Reports Oil Price Surge Is ‘Worrisome’ For Consumers As Trump Looks to Wait Out Iran

Fox Business anchor Liz Claman reported on the latest moves in the energy sector on Monday as the price of oil went up, causing a surge in energy stock prices. Claman noted that Iran has kept the Strait of Hormuz closed despite President Donald Trump’s assurances last week it would open in a day or two, which has sent energy prices upward – something she added is “worrisome” for consumers.

“We can throw a little bit of fuel to make that explosion a little bit bigger, and I’m speaking real fuel — breaking news as we kick off the final hour of trade. Take a look at not just oil, but the entire energy complex. We’ve got prices suddenly sizzling: crude oil at the moment gaining 4.7 percent in the aftermarket,” Claman said, adding:

I just want to give you guys some perspective here, because this morning I looked at West Texas Intermediate — it was at $78.93 — now it’s at $81.91. We’ve got Brent at the moment up four and a half percent. Look at heating oil — it has been just kind of hovering around a gain of 7% in the dead of summer, so it’s pretty interesting to see this. And then certainly if you’re a consumer, it’s a little worrisome.

You’ve got natural gas also moving higher by 4.6%, and RBOB gasoline — this is the wholesale price — gaining 4.8%, a full week after President Trump told Americans the Strait of Hormuz would finally open to oil tanker traffic that day or the next.

Iran still has the strait closed, and now President Trump says that for the moment he’s abandoning the massive military strikes on Iran talk, and instead described his new plan to Axios as, quote, ’low-keying it,’ with sanctions preventing Iran from selling its oil back in place. Trump said, quote, ‘We are only semi-negotiating with them right now. We’re just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money.’

At the moment, when it comes to stocks, on the surface it may look kind of like a muted Monday, but even a gain of just a fraction of a point for the S&P 500 means that major index would be at a record.

Watch the clip above via Fox Business.

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