By Rédaction Africanews and AP
The Strait of Hormuz remained closed on Monday as tensions escalate between Washington and Tehran.
Iran reimposed restrictions on traffic on Saturday over the ongoing US blockade of the waterway.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that American naval forces had seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to evade the obstruction.
Tehran has vowed to respond, calling the move “an act of piracy.”
With a fragile ceasefire set to expire on Wednesday, the fate of peace talks is still uncertain. Trump had claimed negotiations were due to resume in Islamabad on Monday. But Iranian state media said on Sunday that there are “currently no plans to participate in the next round.”
With tankers still prevented from using the strait, oil prices jumped more than 5% as trading opened on Monday.
US benchmark crude gained 5.6% to $87.20 a barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, was up 5.3% at $95.16 a barrel.
Despite the uncertainty around when shipping will resume, share prices were also up as the week’s trading began.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 1% to 59,045.45, while South Korea’s Kospi was up 1.1% at 6,260.92.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.8% to 26,373.71 and the Shanghai Composite index advanced 0.6% to 4,075.08.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was nearly unchanged at 8,943.90. In Taiwan, the Taiex jumped 1.4%.
The euro and the dollar also both climbed early on Monday. The dollar rose to 158.90 Japanese yen from 158.79 yen. The euro climbed to $1.1757 from $1.1742.