Oil rose as fresh fighting flared up in the Strait of Hormuz, highlighting risks to flows from the Middle East after months of conflict.
Brent for November gained toward $90 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was near $85. The US military struck Iranian rocket launchers preparing to send mines into the waterway on Sunday, according to Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for US Central Command, ending weeks of relative calm.
Iran attacked American forces in Jordan, and missiles have been intercepted, Fox News reported, citing a US source familiar with the situation that it didn’t name. There has been no significant damage so far, Fox said.
“The direct attack on Iranian launch sites does little to advance talks, and neither will Iran firing back at Jordan,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group Ltd. “But there seems little appetite, at this stage, to push crude materially higher,” he added, noting that there’d been little follow-through after elevated order flows at the open.
Crude is wrapping up a volatile month in which Brent futures have swung in a range of almost $17 a barrel. Prices have been buffeted by stop-start efforts to bring an end to the war between the US and Iran, including a pledge by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent try to to force Tehran to capitulate by ramping up efforts to isolate and cripple the Islamic Republic’s economy.
Still, even without a peace deal between the two sides, about 6 million to 8 million barrels a day of crude are moving through Hormuz, according to traders monitoring cargoes. Separately, Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported that vessel traffic along a route that’s been approved by the Tehran was “taking place on a limited basis,” with vessels said to be paying tolls.
The top US commander for the Middle East said late last week that American forces had cleared Iranian mines from Hormuz, declaring the shipping lanes to be open. The waterway links the Persian Gulf to global markets, and its status has been a sticking point since the war erupted in late February.
Away from the Middle East, Washington has moved to assert direct control of more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves, with a planned 100-year concession over 17 fields. President Donald Trump said the crude would be used to refill the nation’s depleted emergency reserve.
The US-Iran conflict, as well as the war between between Russia and Ukraine, have lifted petroleum product prices, especially diesel. On Tuesday, Trump is set to meet with refining executives to discuss ways to lower prices.
Trading in Brent futures may be lower than usual in Monday’s session, with parts of the UK including England marking a national holiday.
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This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
