Oil prices jumped about 4% Monday as doubt grew that the U.S. and Iran will reach a deal to increase ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures climbed 4.2% to $81.50 per barrel by 1:24 p.m. ET. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was also up 4.2% to $87.09 a barrel.
President Donald Trump told Axios on Sunday that the U.S. is “only semi-negotiating” with Iran, after he insisted last week that Washington and Tehran were in fact holding talks. Trump indicated that he would rely on the U.S. naval blockade to pressure Tehran rather than another wave of airstrikes.
“We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money,” the president told Axios. Trump canceled a planned attack against the Islamic Republic on Aug. 1 to allow for negotiations.
Oil stocks in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve have fallen below 300 million barrels, the lowest level since 1983, as the conflict drags on.
Oil prices sold off more than 7% last week after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that a deal to open Hormuz with freedom of movement for ships could come soon. But an agreement still has not been announced as Tehran’s and Washington’s positions have hardened.
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Price of Brent oil in 2026
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baqaei, said Monday that the U.S. must lift its blockade before Tehran would agree to fully open Hormuz.
“As long as the U.S. naval blockade continues, the necessary conditions for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz do not exist,” Baqaei said, according to the state news agency Tasnim. Iran and Oman are holding bilateral negotiations over shipping routes in the strait, he said.
The U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding on June 17 to open Hormuz to commercial ships, but the deal quickly collapsed as fighting erupted over which routes vessels could use.
Iran launched multiple attacks on tankers transiting Hormuz along Oman’s coast under U.S. military protection. Tehran demanded that ships sail through its territorial waters when transiting the strait.
The U.S. staged multiple waves of airstrikes and reimposed its naval blockade in retaliation for the tanker attacks.
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