Subsequent events have jerked prices in both directions. Markets were unnerved by the US move to blockade Iran's ports, but subsequently buoyed by a June 17 agreement between the United States and Iran to cease hostilities.

Since the launch of the US-Israeli siege against Iran, prices have been jolted in both directions as the conflict has dragged on.

The oil market is witnessing unprecedented volatility amid the intensifying US-Iran hostilities. Iran's surprising maneuver to shut down the critical Hormuz waterway has caught…