Oil Prices Rise as US-Iran Talks Stall and Shipping Traffic Slows

Al-Taj News –

Oil prices rose on Monday as expectations of a breakthrough in US-Iranian peace talks faded and tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slowed, heightening concerns over geopolitical risks in the market.

Brent crude futures rose 1% to $89.40 per barrel, after rising 72 cents to $89.20 by 02:29 GMT in the latest trading. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 44 cents to $82.83 per barrel.

Both contracts had risen more than 5% last week following attacks targeting tankers operated by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) in the Strait of Hormuz and a refinery belonging to Saudi Aramco.

At the beginning of the week, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had not yet decided whether to resume talks with the United States, while US President Donald Trump urged Americans to accept a slight increase in gasoline prices as long as the conflict continues.

Priyanka Sachdeva, head of market analysis at Phillip Nova in Singapore, said: “Oil prices have now almost fully recovered from their lows recorded in early August, as hopes for a more sustainable resolution between the United States and Iran have faded and geopolitical risk premiums have returned to the market.”

She added: “However, I see limited upside from this level unless we get clear evidence of renewed hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz, particularly physical damage to tankers or oil infrastructure.”

Data released on Monday showed a slowdown in shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz at the beginning of the week following the attacks on oil tankers. Vessel-tracking data from Kpler showed that five commodity-carrying vessels passed through the strait on Saturday, with no vessels recorded on Sunday, compared with 31 vessels at the beginning of the previous week.

The official Emirates News Agency reported that the UAE accused Iran of attacking a third vessel operated by ADNOC while it was transiting the strait on Friday, after blaming Tehran for two other incidents involving ADNOC vessels in the strait on Thursday evening.

Source: Reuters