Oil prices surge back above $100 as Britain stares down the barrel of mass protests

Peter Stevens
Mon, 13 Apr 2026 04:40:07 +0000

Oil prices have surged back above $100 - just as Britain's farmers are set to plan mass protests across the country.

After Iran failed to reach a deal with US after 21 hours of negotiations in Pakistan, energy prices surged as markets reopened on Monday morning.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude had previously dropped below $100 last Wednesday after Donald Trump confirmed a two-week ceasefire had been put in place.

But by Monday, the global benchmark had reached prices of $102.20 (£77.15) - while West Texas Intermediate hit nine per cent higher at $105.34 (£78.59).

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Before the war, over 100 vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz every day - but since the ceasefire, passage through the key waterway has been reduced to a near standstill.

And back in the UK, farmers are set to start planning demonstrations as a result of the rising price of diesel - while ministers were said to have been in talks over the potential for protests on Friday.

No10 was forced to downplay the chance of mass unrest, with one source claiming to GB News that suggestions Labour was "bracing for public disorder" were "categorically incorrect".

One source involved in the farmers' discussions told the Telegraph: "It will be a matter of time before people in this country start to go out and protest."

"Farmers are the last people who want to go out and protest. You have to remember this is a very busy time of the year for us.

"But with the inheritance tax protests, you've got the groups that have been set up. The infrastructure is there to mobilise."

Diesel has hit prices above £2 per litre at more than 50 fuel stations nationwide.

Some suppliers of red diesel - a chemically identical product to diesel which is dyed red and restricted to off-road purposes - have began rationing their deliveries to farmers.

In Ireland, the prices have forced demonstrators out onto the streets, with some staging blockades which have crippled the Republic's roads.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin was forced to reduce fuel duties and delay a planned carbon tax increase after an emergency Cabinet meeting agreed on a response to the fuel crisis following the fury.

The size of the package announced on Sunday is worth around £440 million, and comes on top of £218 million worth of measures announced almost three weeks ago.

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However, fears began to rise that costs - and prices - would soar further on Sunday after the US President's latest remarks.

Donald Trump revealed the US would start "blockading any and all ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz".

Then, addressing the press on his return to the White House, Mr Trump said the blockade would be formally put in place at 3pm BST on Monday.

The President said the move would mean oil tankers would be forced to head to the US to fill up instead.

"There are many boats heading toward our country to fill up with oil and then go and take it," he said. "So they're not going to go through the Hormuz Strait, and ultimately that will be corrected - but in the meantime they're using us.

"We have more oil because of 'drill baby, drill'. We have more oil than Russia and Saudi Arabia put together."

On Monday morning, Mr Trump reiterated the threat on social media - starting a nine-hour countdown to the blockade.

US Central Command said its blockade will be enforced "impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas".

It added that it will not "impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports".

In Iran, however, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Naval Forces said any military vessels that approach the strait will be considered to be violating the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran and "dealt with severely".

Asian countries have taken a larger hit to their economy due to their reliance on oil which passes through the vital waterway - though some countries including India and Malaysia have managed to secure safe passage for their vessels.

Stock markets such as Japan's Nikkei 225 fell by 0.8 per cent, while South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.8 per cent.