New Delhi, July 20 -- NEW YORK - The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline returned to $4 on Monday for the first time since mid-June, pushed back to a threshold American drivers had hoped was receding. Brent crude for September delivery climbed 2.52 percent to $90.32 a barrel in London trading, its highest mark since spring, while West Texas Intermediate rose 2.36 percent to $84.44. American forces completed a ninth consecutive night of strikes on Iranian targets overnight, and Iran responded by striking energy and military infrastructure across two Gulf states over the weekend.

the region is "nowhere close to normalisation." Iran formally declared the Strait of Hormuz closed to tankers without Iranian clearance following la...