Oil Prices Jump to $83.55 After Iran Threatens Key Shipping Route

Oil prices hit $83.55 a barrel on August 7, up over $4 in two days, after Iran's parliament reviewed a bill to bar U.S. and Israeli ships from the Strait of Hormuz — a narrow waterway carrying about one-fifth of the world's oil. No shipments were actually stopped. Investors are paying more for fear of disruption, not because supply fell.