US, Iran escalate Hormuz violence, disruptions
Sydney (13 July)
US and Iranian forces have ramped up attacks around the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, partially unwinding recent crude oil price declines, because of the collapse of the US-Iran Peace Deal.
The US military bombed 140 Iranian military infrastructure and storage sites on 12 July, in retaliation for an Iranian ship attack, US Central Command (Centcom) said at the time. The US has attacked over 300 Iranian sites to deter ship attacks since 8 July, Centcom added.
Iranian forces attacked the Cyprus-flagged GFS Galaxy near Oman on 12 July, sparking a fire and crew evacuation, reports from Centcom and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) indicate.
One of GFS Galaxy’s Indian crew members is reportedly missing, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on 12 July. “The targeting of commercial shipping and civilian infrastructure in the region must end … in keeping with international law,” the Ministry added.
Commercial vessels continue to transit through the Strait, according to Centcom. But only 11 ships appear to have passed through the narrow passage on 12 July, data from marine tracker Hormuz Strait Tracker show.
A limited number of ships continue to transit through the Strait near Oman and Iran because of operator caution, UKMTO said late on 12 July. But Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacks, drone attacks, and surveillance continued over the three days to 12 July, UKMTO added.
Brent crude oil futures prices have increased over the last week because of violence around the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude oil last traded at $76.01/barrel (A$110.42/barrel) on 10 July – before markets closed for the weekend – up from $71.57/barrel on 1 July, data from Trading Economics show.
Australian consumer fuel prices have also increased over the last week, largely because the Australian Government increased its fuel excise rate on 1 July. Retail petrol prices averaged A$1.68/litre across Australia’s largest cities on 8 July, up 11% from A$1.51/litre on 30 June, data from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission show.
Retail diesel prices in large Australian cities similarly averaged A$1.86/litre on 8 July, up 7% from A$1.74/litre on 30 June, ACCC data show.
Australian importers and refiners wholly passed on the Australian Government’s fuel excise hike to retailers on 1 July, before retailers passed the hike on to motorists over the week to 8 July.
Average wholesale petrol prices rose by between A$0.14/litre and A$0.16/litre across Australia’s largest capital cities over 30 June – 1 July, largely because of the Government’s excise hike, data from the ACCC show. But retailers only increased their average petrol prices by between A$0.02/litre and A$0.06/litre in most cities over the same period.
By Avinash Govind