U.S. oil rises as Iran says Hormuz won’t open until U.S. meets conditions
Oil prices rose Tuesday after a senior Iranian official said the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until Tehran’s conditions are met by Washington.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were 1.4% higher at $83.25 per barrel by 1:23 p.m. ET. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was up 1.2% at $88.75 per barrel.
The Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, demanded the U.S. unfreeze Iranian funds held overseas as condition for Hormuz to open, according to Reuters.
The oil market was weighing conflicting signals Tuesday about whether the U.S. and Iran will strike a deal to increase traffic through Hormuz. President Donald Trump has escalated his rhetoric this week, demanding that Iran pay reparations to the U.S.
But Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told Bloomberg News on Tuesday that “things are shaping up again in favor of a peace arrangement or a deal.” Pakistan mediated the interim U.S.-Iran deal in June that collapsed and led to renewed fighting in Hormuz.
One week agp, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that a new deal on Hormuz could come soon but an agreement still has not materialized.
Ship transits through Hormuz remained very low on Monday with just eight vessels crossing the the strait, according to data from the trade intelligence firm Kpler. More than 130 ships crossed Hormuz before the U.S. and Israel attacked on Feb. 28.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Tuesday that oil exports through Hormuz have reached a seven-day moving average of 9 million barrels per day thanks to the U.S. military. The total oil flows from the Gulf region are averaging around 15 million bpd when pipeline exports are included, Wright said.
Meanwhile, Trump on Monday extended the suspension of a shipping law restricting the transport of goods between American ports to U.S. vessels, while narrowing the waiver only to vessels hauling certain energy resources.
The move came after data showing U.S. government crude oil stockpiles have fallen to their lowest level in more than four decades.
Oil prices moved sharply higher on Tuesday
