Oil prices held steady on Tuesday near their highest level in more than a week, as hopes for a deal between the United States and Iran to end their conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz faded after U.S. President Donald Trump demanded compensation for damages suffered by his country.
اضافة اعلان
By 00:13 GMT, Brent crude futures were unchanged at $87.81 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures stood at $82.20 per barrel.
Both benchmarks gained more than 5% on Monday, reaching their highest levels since July 31, after Trump responded to Iran’s conditions for reaching an agreement by demanding that Tehran pay compensation for deaths resulting from wars, attacks and protests.
The demand is likely to complicate efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump later said the United States controlled the strait and had removed Iranian mines from the vital waterway used for oil shipments.
“There appears to be a gap between the U.S. and Iran over what an actual agreement would look like,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.
“As a result, some of the optimism that built up last week is fading, giving oil prices a clear buying bias,” he added.
Meanwhile, Saudi Aramco postponed the restart of its 400,000-barrel-per-day Jazan refinery to August 30 after the Houthis claimed responsibility for two attacks on the refinery on Sunday.
“The risk of restrictions around both the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb remains extremely high,” Waterer said.
“Even intermittent restrictions or the threat of further attacks keeps insurance costs elevated and forces longer shipping routes. As a result, energy flows appear likely to remain constrained in the near term,” he added.
In a note issued on Monday, analysts at Barclays said net crude oil and refined product exports through the Strait of Hormuz averaged 3 million barrels per day in the week ending August 7, down from 4.4 million barrels per day the previous week.
Meanwhile, Iraq raised the official selling price of its Basra Medium crude for Asian buyers for September by $2.50, bringing it to a discount of $4 per barrel against the Oman/Dubai average.
