U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a>‘s warning to Iran over the weekend signals that the impasse between Washington and Tehran over a peace deal and reopening the Strait of Hormuz could lead to a resumption in armed conflict. <\/p>\n Trump said a\u00a0Truth Social<\/a>\u00a0post on Sunday that “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them,” adding that\u00a0“TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!”<\/p>\n Stock Chart IconStock chart icon Brent crude <\/p>\n While a fragile ceasefire was reached in April, tensions between Iran and the U.S. continue with Tehran keeping the Hormuz waterway mostly closed, while the Trump administration continues to blockade Iranian ports. <\/p>\n The strait, prior to the war, saw nearly a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply flow through it. <\/p>\n The International Energy Agency, in its latest monthly update, cautioned that oil inventories globally are depleting at a record pace as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. “Rapidly shrinking buffers amid continued disruptions, may herald future price spikes ahead,” the IEA said.<\/p>\n Inventories will near all-time lows of 7.6 billion barrels by end-May, if demand for oil remains the same month over month, according to a report by Swiss bank UBS last week. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u2014CNBC’s Garrett Downs and Spencer Kimball<\/a> contributed to the report. <\/p>\n![\"hide](\"https:\/\/static-redesign.cnbcfm.com\/dist\/a54b41835a8b60db28c2.svg\")
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