Sailors observe the oil tanker Helga moored at one of Iraq’s offshore oil terminals in southern Iraq near Basra, preparing to load crude oil, making it the second tanker to arrive since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on April 24, 2026.
Mohamed Ati | Reuters
Oil prices rose on Tuesday morning following reports that Iran had attacked a merchant ship in the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
The reported attack on the waterway, which typically handles about 20% of the world’s oil shipments, reaffirmed the fragility of the interim peace agreement between the United States and Iran that negotiates a permanent end to the war.
international benchmark brent crude oil Futures for September delivery rose 1.5% to trade at $73.09 per barrel, extending previous gains.
us west texas intermediate Futures for delivery in August rose 1.5% to $69.56 after closing at their lowest since Feb. 27 in the previous session.
Iran fired at least two missiles at ships sailing through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday night, Axios news agency reported, citing two unnamed US officials. A U.S. official told Axios that the ship sustained significant damage in the attack, but there were no casualties.
CNBC could not independently verify this report.
Meanwhile, Britain’s maritime security alert service, the British Maritime Trade Operations Center, said on Monday it had received reports of an accident eight nautical miles east of Lima, Oman.
UKMTO said the tanker collided with an unknown projectile while heading south, causing a fire. No casualties were reported as a result of this incident.
Oil prices for the past three months.
The U.S. and Iranian governments signed a memorandum of understanding last month to end the nearly four-month war.
Indirect talks ended last week with no sign of meaningful progress towards a durable peace agreement.
President Donald Trump on Monday reiterated his threat of military action against the Islamic Republic, saying either the two countries will reach a deal or the United States will “finish the job.”
“The situation around the Strait of Hormuz remains volatile. However, as we have been advocating since March, ultimately both sides should be interested in containing the conflict,” Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg, said in a research note published on Friday.
It added: “Ahead of midterm parliamentary elections on November 3, US President Donald Trump wants oil prices to fall, while Tehran’s Revolutionary Guards are desperate for funds from possible sanctions relief.”
