Oil Rises Fifth Day as Iran Talks Impasse Adds to UncertaintyAI Quick Read(Bloomberg) -- Oil climbed for a fifth day, its longest string of gains since January, as uncertainty over talks between the US and Iran threatened to further delay flows from the Persian Gulf.
Brent rose above $106 a barrel, headed for a weekly gain of about 17%, while West Texas Intermediate traded near $97. President Donald Trump’s Truth Social posts — as well as his decision to continue with a naval blockade of Iranian ports — have been detrimental to negotiations through mediators such as Pakistan, according to two US officials familiar with the matter.
The war has rattled energy markets since it started at the end of February, with the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz causing a sharp drop in flows from major oil and gas producers in the Persian Gulf. Fresh concerns that peace talks have stalled, an amping up of rhetoric, and increasing military threats are adding to the geopolitical premium in oil prices.
“The longer this continues, the more it becomes clear that the disruptive effects of this conflict are going to reverberate for months, if not longer,” said Mona Yacoubian, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Perhaps the disruption is so resounding and undeniable that the paper market catches up with the reality of constricted supply and what that means for physical markets.”
Futures rose in Thursday’s session after Trump said in a social media post that he had ordered the US Navy to “shoot and kill” boats laying mines in the strait. Meanwhile, American forces boarded a supertanker carrying Iranian oil in the Indian Ocean, as the navy stepped up its blockade of the Islamic Republic’s shipping.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained largely frozen, with only occasional movements of Iran-linked vessels breaking the lull.
Efforts to revive talks between Washington and Tehran remain deadlocked on several other key issues, including the Islamic Republic’s nuclear capabilities and Israeli strikes on Lebanon. The ceasefire in Lebanon has been extended by three weeks, Trump said in a social media post.
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--With assistance from Charles Gorrivan.
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