Oil prices rose on Tuesday after Iranian officials said the Strait of Hormuz would not reopen until Tehran’s conditions were met.
us West Texas Intermediate Futures By 11:53 a.m. ET, the price was up 1.4% at $83.27 a barrel. brent crude oilThe international benchmark rose 1.3% to $88.85 per barrel.
According to Reuters, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said that Hormuz will remain closed if the US does not meet Tehran’s conditions.
Markets are weighing conflicting signals on whether the US and Iran will strike a deal to increase traffic through Hormuz. Earlier, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told Bloomberg News that “the situation is shaping up again for a peace deal and an agreement.”
U.S. oil prices had risen as much as 3% earlier in the day after President Donald Trump demanded that Iran pay reparations to the United States, dimming prospects for a deal.
President Trump on Monday extended a moratorium on shipping laws that restricts U.S. vessels from transporting goods between U.S. ports, while limiting the exemption to vessels transporting certain energy resources.
The move comes after data shows U.S. government crude oil inventories have fallen to their lowest level in more than 40 years.
Oil prices rose significantly on Tuesday
“Oil markets remain heavily driven by headlines, which has resulted in volatile price swings. Recent optimism is rapidly fading,” ING strategists said in a note Tuesday.
“Current rhetoric suggests the chances of a deal are still remote, meaning risks remain biased towards the upside of oil prices.”
