Oil prices fall amid Iran-Oman talks to reopen Hormuz

Oil prices fell more than $2 a barrel on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, as talks between Iran and Oman ‌revived hopes that the Strait of Hormuz could reopen and remove shipping constraints affecting supply in the key Middle East region.

Brent crude futures fell $2.30, or 2.6%, to $86.28 a barrel by 0447 GMT, earlier dropping to their lowest since August 13. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude ​futures were down $2.08, or 2.53%, at $80.29, earlier sinking to their lowest since August 10.

Both benchmarks fell more ​than 3% on Tuesday.

​An analyst at Fujitomi Securities, Mitsuru Muraishi, said: “The market continues to react to developments surrounding navigation through the Strait ⁠of Hormuz, and hopes for progress in talks between Iran and Oman have triggered selling.

“That said, uncertainty over the outlook has prompted bargain buying, limiting further losses, and prices ​are likely to remain range-bound for the time being.”

Iran said it had restarted talks with Oman to manage the strait as it faces heightened economic pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump.

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Iran and Oman have been in on-and-off talks for weeks about controlling ​traffic through the waterway, which handled one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the U.S.-Israeli war ​against Iran began in February.

The two countries said on Tuesday that they discussed “a joint temporary navigational corridor” through the strait and agreed ‌to clear ⁠it of mines.

Amid the talks, ship traffic through Hormuz remains lower. Only five commodity vessels — two liquefied petroleum gas tankers and a bitumen tanker exiting and two empty product tankers — transited the waterway on Tuesday, preliminary data from shiptracker Kpler showed, down from the 10-day average of 15 and well below pre-war levels.