Oil prices approach Iran-war highs as soaring tanker rates trigger a second energy squeeze

Oil prices are climbing back toward the highs reached during the Iran conflict, with the latest leg driven less by crude fundamentals than by the cost of moving oil. Soaring tanker rates are producing what analysts describe as a second energy squeeze: even where cargoes are available, the expense and difficulty of shipping them are tightening effective supply and feeding through to benchmark prices.

The development matters because it suggests markets are beginning to price in the scenario investors have most feared — a wider regional conflict that could further disrupt global energy flows. Higher freight costs act as a tax on delivered crude, and sustained increases can spill into inflation expectations, freight-linked equities and broader risk sentiment.

What to watch: whether tanker rates keep rising or normalize, whether physical crude flows through key routes remain uninterrupted, and whether energy costs start feeding into wider inflation data. For now, the move looks like a risk premium being rebuilt rather than a confirmed supply shock — a distinction that matters for how durable the rally proves to be.