Oil prices jumped 4% on Monday, rebounding from a weekly slide of more than 7%, after Iran ruled out direct talks with the United States and tied a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to demands Washington hasn't met. Houthi attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure exacerbated concerns over regional oil flows, while vessel traffic through Hormuz continued to thin amid the uncertainty.
Oil prices jumped 4% on Monday, with Brent crude futures climbing to $86.85 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate rising 3.9% to $81.30, after Iran ruled out direct talks with the United States and tied a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to conditions Washington has not met. The rebound reversed a decline of more than 7% for the week, which had largely been driven by claims from U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump, that talks with Iran were underway.
Those losses eased late last week as Tehran kept rejecting Washington's negotiation claims, while reports emerged that a new Hormuz management framework would bar U.S., Israeli, and other hostile vessels from the waterway. Iran's state media said a parliamentary commission had approved that framework, including the ban on those vessels.
Iran ties Hormuz reopening to unmet demands
Iran also ruled out direct talks with the U.S. for now, citing alleged violations of the interim peace agreement reached in June. Tehran reiterated that a full reopening requires an end to the U.S. naval blockade, the removal of sanctions, and compensation for war damage.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran and Oman had yet to finalize a joint statement on managing the strait, adding that the plan would include mechanisms to monitor vessel passage, for which compensation should be received. Trump said Iran was asking for compensation for damages since the start of the U.S.-Israeli joint assault on Tehran towards the end of February.
Hormuz traffic thins as Houthi attacks widen
Confirmed vessel crossings through Hormuz fell from 15 on Friday to 11 on Saturday and six on Sunday, according to shipping tracker Kpler. Traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait stayed comparatively active, with 43 crossings on Friday, 37 on Saturday, and 36 on Sunday, even as Houthi forces in Yemen claimed a large-scale operation against Saudi Arabian depots in the Al-Makha area.
The Houthis had earlier claimed to target a Saudi Aramco refinery in Jizan; Saudi Arabia said the resulting fire was extinguished.
Some risk eased elsewhere. Ukraine agreed not to target certain non-Russian oil tankers and Black Sea energy infrastructure tied to Kazakhstan's crude exports. Separately, repeated attacks on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal have put roughly 1.8 million barrels per day of those exports at risk.
Source: Investing.com
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