Oil prices rebound amid renewed Hormuz tensions
Oil prices surged on Monday following a renewed escalation of hostilities in the Middle East conflict after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, News.Az reports, citing AFP.
Despite the renewed tensions, lingering hopes of a potential agreement to end the seven-week crisis continued to support global equities, even as Tehran said it was not currently planning to attend peace talks.
Crude oil prices had fallen sharply on Friday while US and European stocks rallied after Iran announced it would again allow ships to pass through the strategic waterway, through which around one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows, citing a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
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US President Donald Trump told AFP that “we’re very close to having a deal,” adding that there were “no sticking points at all” remaining with Tehran. Iran, however, rejected the claim, saying its stockpile of enriched uranium would not be transferred “anywhere.”
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell more than 11 percent, while Brent crude dropped around nine percent on Friday.
Both benchmarks rebounded sharply on Monday, just days before the end of a two-week ceasefire, amid continued tensions over the US blockade and after an American destroyer fired on and seized an Iranian vessel that attempted to evade interception. Tehran warned it would retaliate.
The blockade of Iranian ports remains a major sticking point in negotiations between the two sides. Iranian state broadcaster IRIB cited sources as saying there were “currently no plans to participate in the next round of Iran-US talks” in Pakistan.
The Fars and Tasnim news agencies had earlier reported, citing unnamed sources, that “the overall atmosphere cannot be assessed as very positive,” adding that lifting the US blockade was a precondition for further talks.
WTI crude rose more than seven percent at one point, while Brent gained over six percent.
So far, only one round of negotiations has taken place — a 21-hour session in Islamabad on April 11 — which ended without agreement, though groundwork for further talks has continued.
Trump reiterated in a social media post on Sunday that “we’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it,” while also renewing warnings over Iran’s infrastructure if no agreement is reached.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned that any attempt to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without permission “will be considered cooperation with the enemy, and the offending vessel will be targeted.”
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei called the blockade “a violation” of the ceasefire.
Despite geopolitical tensions, equities rose, with Wall Street indexes including the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reaching record closes. comments had raised the prospect of renewed tensions, though markets may view them as a negotiating tactic ahead of talks.
“Market participants understand that the path to a formal agreement is unlikely to be linear and remains vulnerable to sudden changes,” he said.
“However, without a comprehensive agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme, the ceasefire remained fragile.”
By Nijat Babayev
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