Oil prices are surging again amid renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran that has again halted tanker traffic via the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. domestic West Texas Intermediate price index hovered near the $85/bbl mark early Tuesday, representing a rise of more than 25% since the ceasefire MOU between the two countries collapsed in early July. Thus, the affordability optimism felt by U.S. drivers and consumers in June returns to the pocketbook strains of March through May, as the average price for gasoline once again tops the $4/gallon threshold. (RELATED: Welcome To Donald Trump’s Forever War)

All these swirling risk factors were enhanced this week by rising threats by the Houthi rebels in Yemen to resume firing on ships exiting the Red Sea via the Bab el Mandeb strait.

A shutting down of that crucial choke point would make it far harder for Saudi Arabia to get its 7 million barrels per day out onto the open market since the Suez Canal can’t accommodate the biggest class of crude oil tankers. Al Jazeera reported Tuesday morning that two big Saudi tankers made U-turns to return to port amid Houthi threats.

Further exacerbating the situation is the fact that the supply........

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