{"id":61981,"date":"2026-05-15T11:38:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T15:38:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/oil-surges-3-as-middle-east-conflict-escalates-trump-signals-new-beginning-in-china-visit\/61981\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T11:38:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T15:38:28","slug":"oil-surges-3-as-middle-east-conflict-escalates-trump-signals-new-beginning-in-china-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/oil-surges-3-as-middle-east-conflict-escalates-trump-signals-new-beginning-in-china-visit\/61981\/","title":{"rendered":"Oil Surges $3 as Middle East Conflict Escalates; Trump Signals &#8220;New Beginning&#8221; in China Visit"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Crude oil prices surged by over $3 per barrel<\/strong> as the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong> remains largely impassable following the collapse of U.S.-Iran peace negotiations.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The UAE has dismissed Iranian justifications<\/strong> for recent attacks and reaffirmed its &quot;full rights&quot; to respond to any hostile actions or threats to its sovereignty.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bristol Myers Squibb (<a href=\"\/stock\/BMY\">BMY<\/a>)<\/strong> entered a massive <strong>$15.2 billion partnership<\/strong> with China&#39;s <strong>Hengrui Pharma<\/strong> to develop 13 new medicines in oncology and immunology.<\/li>\n<li><strong>U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright<\/strong> announced the government will refill the <strong>Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)<\/strong> at a 1.2-to-1 ratio for every barrel released.<\/li>\n<li><strong>President Trump arrived in Beijing<\/strong> for a state visit that Chinese officials are hailing as a <strong>&quot;new beginning&quot;<\/strong> for the world&#39;s two largest economies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Energy Markets and Geopolitical Escalation<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Oil prices jumped by more than $3 per barrel<\/strong> on Friday as concerns over a widening conflict between the <strong>U.S. and Iran<\/strong> reached a fever pitch. <strong>Brent crude<\/strong> climbed to approximately <strong>$104.32<\/strong>, while <strong>U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI)<\/strong> rose to <strong>$98.40<\/strong>, driven by the continued closure of the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The maritime crisis deepened following reports that the <strong>MSV Haji Ali<\/strong>, an India-flagged cargo vessel, capsized off the coast of <strong>Oman<\/strong>. The vessel reportedly caught fire after a suspected drone or missile attack, further exposing the extreme risks to commercial shipping in the region. <strong>China<\/strong> has issued an urgent call for the immediate reopening of the Strait to prevent further global economic disruption.<\/p>\n<h2>UAE-Iran Tensions and Regional Diplomacy<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>United Arab Emirates (UAE)<\/strong> issued a strongly worded statement dismissing Iran&#39;s &quot;accusations and justifications&quot; for recent attacks aimed at the Emirates. During a <strong>BRICS<\/strong> meeting, UAE officials maintained that the country retains the <strong>full right to respond<\/strong> to any threats or hostile actions from Tehran.<\/p>\n<p>In Lebanon, diplomatic sources indicate that while <strong>ceasefire drafts<\/strong> are being circulated and studied, they still require significant &quot;modifications.&quot; The regional instability has placed <strong>Jerome Powell&#39;s<\/strong> eight-year tenure as <strong>Federal Reserve Chair<\/strong> under renewed scrutiny, as he navigates a succession of geopolitical crises that threaten the political independence of the central bank.<\/p>\n<h2>US-China Relations and Corporate Alliances<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Air Force One<\/strong> landed at <strong>Ted Stevens Anchorage Airport<\/strong> early Friday morning to refuel as <strong>President Trump<\/strong> made his way to Beijing. Chinese state media described the visit as a <strong>&quot;new beginning&quot;<\/strong> for bilateral relations, focusing on trade and economic cooperation despite the ongoing Middle East turmoil.<\/p>\n<p>Coinciding with the diplomatic visit, <strong>Bristol Myers Squibb (<a href=\"\/stock\/BMY\">BMY<\/a>)<\/strong> announced a landmark <strong>$15.2 billion R&amp;D alliance<\/strong> with China&#39;s <strong>Hengrui Pharma<\/strong>. The deal involves the cross-licensing of 13 drug programs, marking a significant step in international medical cooperation and highlighting the growing importance of Chinese innovation in the global pharmaceutical pipeline.<\/p>\n<h2>Domestic Economic Developments<\/h2>\n<p>In the U.S., <strong>Energy Secretary Chris Wright<\/strong> confirmed at an event in <strong>Sabine Pass<\/strong> that the administration intends to replace every barrel of oil released from the <strong>Strategic Petroleum Reserve<\/strong>. Wright noted that for every barrel released to stabilize current prices, the U.S. aims to get <strong>1.2 barrels back<\/strong> into the reserve.<\/p>\n<p>On the legislative front, <strong>Speaker Mike Johnson<\/strong> and Financial Services Chair <strong>French Hill<\/strong> announced that the House will vote on an <strong>amended housing text<\/strong> next week. Meanwhile, the <strong>Federal Reserve<\/strong> released its 13th annual <strong>Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED)<\/strong>, providing critical data on how U.S. families are faring amidst high energy costs and global instability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Crude oil prices surged by over $3 per barrel as the Strait of Hormuz remains largely impassable following [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5012],"tags":[18842,970,1327,1947,3710,4450,6135,17735,17953,18808],"class_list":["post-61981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","tag-bristol-myers-squibb-bmy-stock-bmy-2","tag-wti","tag-china","tag-oil","tag-federal-reserve","tag-spr","tag-uae","tag-us-iran-conflict","tag-strategicpetroleumreserve","tag-shed"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}