US oil jumps above $80 per barrel as Strategic Petroleum Reserve reaches lowest level since 1983

US oil prices jumped above $80 a barrel Monday amid growing doubts over a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, as reserves have dwindled to their lowest levels since 1983.West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices rose 4.6% to $81.78 a barrel while Brent crude increased 4.7% to $87.45 a barrel.Remarks from President Trump over the weekend spooked investors who were hoping for a speedy deal between the US and Iran to ramp up tanker traffic in the Persian Gulf, as the commander-in-chief instead signaled he is willing to wait and use economic pressure on Iran.“We are low-keying it,” Trump told Axios during a phone call Sunday when asked about talks with Tehran.“We are only semi-negotiating with them.

We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money.”The US Department of Energy on Monday announced that the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, or SPR, has fallen below the 300 million-barrel mark – its lowest level in more than four decades as the Iran war fuels the worst energy supply disruption in history.Oil prices have shot as high as $125 a barrel since the war in Iran broke out Feb.28, but the US has been partly cushioned by its vast petroleum reserves. Unless the free flow of vessels throughout the Middle East resumes soon, a dwindling supply suggests that gasoline prices could jump even higher.National average gasoline prices remained stubbornly above $4 a gallon as of Monday, according to AAA – more than a dollar higher than pre-war prices.The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 151 points, or 0.3%, by about 2:20 p.m.

ET, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slumped less than 0.1% and 0.4%, respectively.Investors have been hoping for a more permanent US-Iran deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, especially after Trump last week canceled a planned attack and insisted that the two nations were holding talks.Last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that the two sides could reach a deal very soon to restore “freedom of...