Crude oil prices see largest 1-day increase in 6 years

Oil prices surged Thursday with the highest one-day increase in six years, threatening to further drive up the price of gas as the conflict between the US and Iran has continued.

Stocks related to energy were volatile on Thursday as the price of oil spiked by 12 percent since Wednesday, up to $111 per barrel, per NBC News. For the year, the price of crude oil is up 94 percent. US indexes recovered some early losses when Iran’s deputy foreign minister said his country would outline a "new navigation regime" in the Strait of Hormuz after the war ended.

International Brent crude increased almost 8 percent to over $109 per barrel, with year-to-date gains near 80 percent. In a Wednesday's speech, President Donald Trump promised the conflict would conclude "shortly," while also committing to "extremely hard" additional Iranian strikes "over the next two to three weeks."

"The strait will open up naturally," Trump said at the White House regarding the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway to trade in the region. Trump also stressed the war would persist until military goals were "fully achieved." 

"Iran's Navy is gone. Their Air Force is in ruins. Their leaders, most of them, terrorist regime they led, are now dead," Trump said during his address. He added that "from the very first day [he] announced his campaign," he has vowed to "never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon." 

The average unleaded gasoline hit $4.08 per gallon on Thursday, up from $2.98 before the Trump administration launched the initial strikes on February 28.