Oil edged up in a choppy session as traders expressed skepticism over the potential for a deal that would imminently restore flows through the Strait of Hormuz, even as officials tout progress.
West Texas Intermediate rose 1.3% to settle near $83 a barrel, marking a fourth straight session of gains. Futures have been highly sensitive to headlines about negotiations between the US and Iran to reopen the vital energy chokepoint. Prices had surged after US President Donald Trump made sweeping new demands on Tehran, clouding the outlook for any agreement.
West Texas Intermediate rose 1.3% to settle near $83 a barrel, marking a fourth straight session of gains. Futures have been highly sensitive to headlines about negotiations between the US and Iran to reopen the vital energy chokepoint. Prices had surged after US President Donald Trump made sweeping new demands on Tehran, clouding the outlook for any agreement.
Pakistan’s defense minister said Tuesday that the US and Iran are “close to some sort of arrangement” on the strait. Talks between Oman and Iran, the two countries with coastal waters, have also reached an advanced stage, Al Jazeera reported, citing a Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson.
Restoring shipping through the world’s most important energy chokepoint is crucial to rebalancing the global oil market. Before the war, the route handled about a fifth of global oil and gas flows. The US now expects oil supply disruptions to reach about 600,000 barrels per day through the end of next year, according the US Energy Information Administration’s Short-Term Energy Outlook.