International oil prices surged sharply at the opening of trading on April 13, with Brent and WTI crude futures both jumping by 8%. As of 6:34 Beijing time, Brent crude was up more than 7% to $102.03 per barrel, while WTI crude rose over 8% to $104.794 per barrel.

In the precious metals market, spot gold and silver both opened lower. At the time of writing, spot gold had fallen below $4,650 to $4,648.65 per ounce, down 2.07% for the day. Spot silver dropped nearly 4% to $72.998 per ounce.

Futures for the three major U.S. stock indices all declined, with each falling more than 1% as of the latest update.

According to reports, the U.S. Central Command issued a statement on April 12 local time, announcing that starting at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on April 13, U.S. forces would begin a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports.

The statement indicated that the blockade would be applied equally to vessels from all countries traveling to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports located in the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

The U.S. Central Command also clarified that the blockade would not impede the passage of ships traveling to and from non-Iranian ports through the Strait of Hormuz. Prior to the start of the blockade, additional information would be provided to commercial maritime personnel through official notifications.

In related developments, a senior Israeli defense official stated on April 12 that the Israeli Defense Forces had entered a "high-alert status" and were preparing to resume military operations against Iran, as well as preparing for a potential surprise attack by Iran against Israel.