Oil prices held steady as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slowed sharply over the weekend, with no peace deal in sight between the United States and Iran.
Oil prices barely moved in early trade on Monday as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slowed sharply over the weekend amid the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran. Brent crude futures climbed 20 cents or 0.2 per cent to USD 88.72 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures slipped 5 cents to USD 82.35 a barrel. Both contracts gained more than 5 per cent the previous week following attacks on tankers operated by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in the Hormuz strait and on a Saudi Aramco refinery.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slowed significantly over the weekend, with just five commodity vessels transiting the strait on Saturday and none registered for Sunday, compared to 31 transits the prior weekend, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Iran had not decided to resume talks with the US, while US President Donald Trump urged Americans to accept slightly higher gasoline prices while the conflict continued. The slowdown in traffic through the strait, through which approximately 20 per cent of global oil consumption is normally shipped, underscores the ongoing disruption to global energy supply chains as negotiations between the two countries remain stalled.
Source: NDTV
