Oil prices rise amid uncertainty over Strait of Hormuz reopening

Oil prices rose ‌on Monday as uncertainty persisted over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran saying the United States must meet several conditions even as Tehran and Oman moved into the final stages of agreeing on new shipping lanes.

Brent crude futures rose 84 cents, or 1%, to $84.39 a barrel by 0424 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 60 cents, ⁠or 0.75% to $78.77 a barrel.

Both benchmarks had fallen more than 7% last week on hopes that Iran and Oman were close to reaching a deal that would result in a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which carried a fifth of the world’s oil before the war.

While Iran said on Sunday that a deal with Oman was in its “final stages”, it reiterated that the waterway would only reopen once Washington met other conditions, including U.S. compensation for widespread U.S. attacks on Iran.

“Crude oil prices remain caught between opposing forces, as markets assess the possibility of a breakthrough over the ‌Strait of ⁠Hormuz against Iran’s conditions for reopening the strategic waterway,” said Sugandha Sachdeva, founder of SS WealthStreet, a New Delhi-based research firm.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday that Iran and the U.S. are not engaged in talks and Tehran will not start them as long as Washington breaches an interim deal signed in June.

Meanwhile, ⁠in a further threat to supply, the Iran-aligned Houthis said they had hit Saudi Aramco’s Jazan refinery on Sunday.

The attack came two days after the kingdom signed a defence pact with Sunni Muslim allies Turkey and Pakistan in response ⁠to growing regional instability from the U.S.-Israeli war on Shi’ite Iran.

Separately, the United Arab Emirates’ ADNOC said on Friday that 15 of its vessels had been attacked transiting the Strait of Hormuz since ⁠the beginning of the conflict.