Oil prices fell by more than 2% in early Asian trading on Monday, hitting their lowest level in more than a week amid growing hopes for a diplomatic path to contain the war between the United States and Iran, alongside signs of improving Saudi crude exports through the Strait of Hormuz despite continued Houthi attacks.
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Brent crude fell $2.16, or 2.08%, to $101.71 per barrel by 02:13 GMT, after earlier reaching its lowest level since September 10. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also declined $2.15, or 2.14%, to $98.15 per barrel after falling below the $100 mark, a key psychological level for the market.
Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said some of the risk premium added to oil prices during the war had begun to fade amid hopes that a diplomatic path toward de-escalation could emerge this week, while cautioning that the success of these expectations remained uncertain.
Attention is turning to the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York this week, where US President Donald Trump said he was open to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is expected to be in New York.
Meanwhile, Washington and Tehran exchanged new threats on Sunday, as reports indicated that Iran had conveyed its conditions to mediators for resuming negotiations aimed at ending the war.
On the supply side, Houthi attacks on Saudi oil facilities have prompted a shift in crude export routes after attacks on the East-West pipeline halted part of the shipments through Yanbu and led Saudi Aramco to increase exports through the Strait of Hormuz during September and October.
According to preliminary data from Kpler, Saudi exports have risen to more than 4 million barrels per day since the beginning of September, compared with around 2.4 million barrels per day in August, the lowest level since at least 2013.
Satellite data, according to JPMorgan analysts, showed that Saudi oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz rose to an average of 2.9 million barrels per day over the past six days, compared with around 700,000 barrels per day in August.
The bank's analysts said oil flows in the Middle East remained “surprisingly strong” despite disruptions to Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, noting that total oil flows from the region averaged 17.1 million barrels per day over the past 10 days, about 6.1 million barrels per day below the 2025 average.
According to three informed Iranian sources, China asked Iran to help rein in the Houthis following a Saudi request for Beijing to intervene over the recent attacks.
