{
  "id": 1834945,
  "title": "Oil prices rise further as Iran, U.S. remain at odds over Hormuz",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/19/oil-prices-rise-further-as-iran-u-s-remain-at-odds-over-hormuz",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-19T00:14:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Investing.com",
    "slug": "investing-com",
    "url": "https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/oil-prices-rise-further-as-iran-us-remain-at-odds-over-hormuz-4866252"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Oil prices continued to climb for the fourth straight day on Wednesday, as tensions between the U.S. and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz remained unresolved, fueling concerns about potential supply constraints. West Texas Intermediate crude futures increased by 0.45% to $85.32 a barrel, while Brent futures had not yet begun trading. The gains in oil prices this week reached near a three-week high, despite U.S. President Donald Trump's assurance that no talks or dialogue with Iran were planned. Trump maintained that the Strait of Hormuz was still open. Iran, however, insisted that no discussions were taking place with the U.S. and also denied American claims regarding the status of Hormuz, stating it would remain closed until the U.S. fulfilled the terms of an interim deal signed in June. This deal, however, had expired that week, with neither nation giving any indication of renewing the ceasefire. Shipping information revealed that commercial traffic through Hormuz was only a fraction of its pre-war levels, indicating ongoing disruptions to global oil supplies. Furthermore, data from the American Petroleum Institute showed a slight decline in U.S. inventories last week, a metric that often foreshadows a similar decline in official inventory data, which is expected later on Wednesday. The recent contraction in U.S. inventories, combined with the shrinking of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to its lowest level in over four decades due to the Iran conflict, further emphasized the tight supply situation in the United States.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}