Oil prices raced upward on Monday as President Trump said the US would reimpose its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and begin charging a 20% fee on any cargo shipped through the vital waterway, further complicating an already volatile situation in the Middle East. Futures on Brent crude (BZ=F), the international benchmark, jumped roughly 4.7% to trade at nearly $80 per barrel. The US benchmark WTI crude (CL=F) rose a similar 4.6% to trade near $75. "The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran," President Trump said on Monday. "We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because ... (full story)