Oil prices rose by 8% and climbed above $100 per barrel on Monday in early Asian trading, hours after the United States announced a blockade of Iranian ports. After falling to around $97 at the end of last week, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for May delivery rebounded 8.69% to $104.95. The price of North Sea Brent crude for June delivery was trading at around $103.17 at the same time, up 8.37%. The U.S. military announced it would begin a blockade of Iranian ports starting today at 14:00 GMT, according to the U.S. Central Command (Centcom), following the failure of talks in Pakistan. However, it specified that it would allow vessels not originating from or heading to Iran to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which normally transits one-fifth of the world's oil supply. "The threats of the American president to impose a naval blockade against Iran are completely ridiculous and amusing," responded the head of the Iranian navy, Admiral Shahram Irani. Following the failure of Iranian-American talks this weekend, Pakistan, the host country of the discussions, called for respect of the bilateral ceasefire agreed upon by both sides—neither of which has commented on the future of the ceasefire, which is supposed to expire on April 22.