Crude oil futures traded flat on Friday morning after the United States said it could maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely and intensify economic pressure on Iran, according to The Hindu Business Line. The report, published on August 14, 2026, said October Brent oil futures were at $87.06, down by 0.01 per cent, and September crude oil futures on West Texas Intermediate (WTI) were at $81.30, up by 0.06 per cent at 10.03 am.
Price action at the open
The Hindu Business Line reported that during the initial hour of trading on Friday, August crude oil futures on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) were at ₹7,752 against the previous close of ₹7,821, down by 0.88 per cent. September crude futures on MCX were at ₹7,701 against the previous close of ₹7,764, down by 0.81 per cent. The international benchmarks were nearly unchanged, while the Indian exchange contracts opened lower.
| Contract | Exchange | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| October Brent | — | $87.06 | -0.01% |
| September WTI | — | $81.30 | +0.06% |
| August crude | MCX | ₹7,752 | -0.88% |
| September crude | MCX | ₹7,701 | -0.81% |
Naval blockade and economic pressure
Speaking to media persons in Panama, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US military has the capability to maintain a naval presence in the West Asia region to enforce its blockade of Iran. Hegseth said:
Indefinitely the US Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we’ll rotate ships in and out, as we have, and we’ll continue to.
Indicating more economic pressure on Iran, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview to Newsmax:
Watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we are going to apply measures like have never been seen in the history of economic isolation on a country.
Speaking to Axios earlier this week, US President Donald Trump said that the US is watching Iran with its huge inflation. Stating that Iran had no money, he said it is in very bad shape economically and has no money to pay its troops. According to Trump, the US naval blockade has exacerbated the Iranian regime’s economic crisis.
Other commodity contracts
On MCX, August natural gas futures were trading at ₹262.60 during the initial hour of trading on Friday against the previous close of ₹260.60, up by 0.77 per cent.
On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), August guargum contracts were trading at ₹11,479 against the previous close of ₹11,427, up by 0.46 per cent. August turmeric (farmer polished) futures were trading at ₹18,984 against the previous close of ₹19,598, down by 3.13 per cent.
Bessent signalled that additional announcements are coming next week, with measures he described as like never seen in the history of economic isolation on a country, according to The Hindu Business Line. Market participants are now watching for those announcements, with the flat crude open reflecting the market’s focus on the US naval blockade and the prospect of further economic pressure on Iran.
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