Oil prices fell to a three-month low on Tuesday as investors continued to wait for details of a deal between the United States and Iran to end the Middle East conflict.
brent crude oil Futures prices at one point fell to $79.96 per barrel, and the international index fell below $80 for the first time since March. Shares were last trading down about 3.6% at $80.19 as of 8:28 a.m. ET.
us west texas intermediate Futures were trading about 3.8% lower at $77.71.
The push towards a resolution to the war will be at the center of discussions at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, which begins today, with further details of the memorandum expected to be announced later this week. The United States and Iran have given conflicting explanations about the actual contents of the deal.
“No one has seen the document,” Amos Hochstein, who advised former President Joe Biden on energy issues, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday. “It’s a little strange that we didn’t see it, given that the deal was reached three days ago.”
Tanker captain is cautious
The United States and Iran earlier reached a tentative agreement on Sunday that extended the ceasefire between the two countries for 60 days and reopened the Strait of Hormuz to all shipping.
Arriving at the G7 meeting, President Donald Trump said a peace framework with Iran had been signed, adding that the Strait of Hormuz would be “fully reopened” on Friday, waiving Iranian tolls. President Trump said a formal signing ceremony would be held in Geneva on Friday.
Germany’s global container shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd welcomed the peace agreement and the prospect of a cessation of all military operations in the region as “good news for us, our crews and our customers.”
“We hope that the remaining four vessels will be able to transit the Strait of Hormuz this weekend,” Hapag-Lloyd said in a statement.
West Texas Intermediate.
But the head of the world’s largest tanker operator suggested a more complex path to normalizing traffic in the strait, which accounted for about 20% of global oil supplies before the outbreak of war in late February.
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Chief Executive Officer Jotaro Tamura told the Financial Times on Tuesday that many operators may wait weeks before allowing tankers to resume crossing the strait.
“What needs to be concluded is not just an agreement between the countries involved, but something substantial that reflects the actual situation in the Strait of Hormuz so that shipping companies can transit comfortably,” Tamura said.
