Oil prices rose about 2% on Thursday, March 26, 2026, clawing back losses from the previous session on concerns that protracted fighting in the Middle East will further disrupt energy flows.
Brent futures rose $2.08, or 2.03%, to $104.30 a barrel by 0638 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up $1.93, or 2.14%, at $92.25 a barrel.
Both benchmarks slumped more than 2% on Wednesday.
Iran’s foreign minister said on Wednesday the country is still reviewing a United States proposal to end the war, but has no intention of holding talks to end the Middle East conflict.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said U.S. President Donald Trump will hit Iran harder if Tehran fails to accept that the country has been “defeated militarily”.
“Optimism regarding a ceasefire has faded,” said Tsuyoshi Ueno, senior economist at NLI Research Institute.
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He added that the bar set by Washington appeared high, leaving oil prices vulnerable to further volatility depending on negotiations and military actions by both sides.
Trump’s 15-point proposal, sent through Pakistan, calls for removing Iran’s stocks of highly enriched uranium, halting enrichment, curbing its ballistic missile program and cutting off funding for regional allies, according to three Israeli cabinet sources familiar with the plan.
The conflict has all but halted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which typically carries about one-fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas supply. The International Energy Agency has called it the biggest-ever oil supply disruption.
U.S. crude inventories rose by 6.9 million barrels to 456.2 million barrels in the week ended March 20, the highest since June 2024 and far exceeding analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 477,000-barrel increase.
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