WASHINGTON, July 7 — The memory of last year’s spike in oil prices is a sharp reminder of just how vulnerable global energy markets remain. On May 12, 2025, Brent crude futures jumped 3% to $85 a barrel after attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. For American drivers, the practical upshot was immediate: higher gasoline costs.
For the rest of the world, it meant a fresh jolt of inflation. Think of the Strait of Hormuz like a narrow garden hose that a fifth of the world’s oil has to pass through.
That’s about 17 million barrels a day, as of 2023. When that hose gets squeezed — or attacked — prices react fast. The U.S. has a tool for exactly this kind of moment.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve held roughly 375 million barrels as of April 2025. It’s the emergency stash, designed to calm markets when supply gets rattled.
In plain terms, it’s the national savings account for oil. One of the clearest signals of trouble in the strait is the cost of insuring the tankers that sail through it. During the 2019 crisis, insurance premiums spiked tenfold.
That kind of jump tells you the market is pricing in real danger. The same dynamic can re-emerge quickly if tensions flare again. It’s not just oil at risk, either.
Iran’s actions in the region also threaten liquefied natural gas shipments from Qatar. That matters because LNG is a major fuel for power generation and heating.
A disruption there would hit energy markets beyond just crude. So what does this mean for the average person? When the Strait of Hormuz is in the headlines, it’s worth watching what happens at the pump.
The 2025 price jump was a concrete example of how a distant geopolitical event can land in your wallet. The reserve can help, but it’s not a magic wand.
The underlying vulnerability — a narrow chokepoint handling a huge share of the world’s oil — hasn’t changed.
