Following President Donald Trump’s announcement that the US had stopped and captured a cargo ship flying the Iranian flag, global oil prices increased during Monday morning trade in Asia. It followed Iran’s announcement on Saturday that it would once more close the Strait of Hormuz waterway to commercial ships and threaten to strike any that approach.
West Texas Intermediate was up 5.6% at $88.55, while Brent crude futures were up 4.74% at $94.66 (£70.11) per barrel. Since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 and Tehran retaliated by threatening to target ships in the strait, which transports over 20% of the world’s oil and LNG, energy markets have experienced violent fluctuations. Trump has earlier announced that his delegates would hold talks in Pakistan on Monday. Vice-President JD Vance will head the US delegation, according to a White House official.
Iranian officials have not yet defined the country’s stance, but Iran’s state media reported that Tehran has “no plans for now to participate” in the negotiations.According to analyst Saul Kavonic of financial services firm MST Marquee, “oil markets continue to oscillate in response to oscillating social media posts by the US and Iran rather than the realities on the ground which remain challenging for oil flows to resume in a rapid fashion.”All of this is physically occurring in real time on the Strait of Hormuz as part of discussions.
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