Oil climbs as fading US-Iran peace hopes raise supply risks
Both brent crude and US WTI crude contracts gained more than 5% last week following attacks on tankers
Oil prices rose on Tuesday as hopes of ending the Middle East conflict appeared further away, with Iran signaling a more aggressive military stance and the US dismissing the possibility of extending a ceasefire agreement. Iran announced it would adopt a "fully offensive" military posture due to stalled negotiations for a permanent end to the war with the US, while Washington ruled out extending a temporary ceasefire.
The progress towards peace talks and resumption of oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has stalled, threatening to prolong the conflict that the US and Israel initiated with attacks on Iran on February 28. Brent crude futures increased by 27 cents, or 0.3%, to $91.14 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 42 cents to $85.04 a barrel.
Analysts noted that oil prices had jumped at the start of the week due to the shaky US-Iran relations and the lack of any deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with shipping numbers remaining minimal.
Written by urgent.news from The Business Times - Companies & Markets's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
Also reported by 2 other outlets
- Oil climbs as fading US-Iran peace hopes raise supply risks brecorder.com
- Oil climbs as fading US-Iran peace hopes raise supply risks channelnewsasia.com
