Oil prices settle up

Crude benchmarks climbed to their highest closes in a week on Tuesday, with Brent settling at USD 88.91 a barrel after a 1.4 percent gain. WTI added 1.3 percent to finish at USD 83.20, according to Business Recorder. Both contracts had already surged about 5 percent on Monday as hopes for a US-Iran peace deal faded.

The move followed doubts about a potential US-Iran peace arrangement. Mohsen Rezaei, who recently became secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said on Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz would stay shut until Washington changes its conduct and accepts Tehran's terms for ending the war. Shipping data indicated only six vessels transited the waterway on Monday, while the 10-day mean stood near 11.

The US Energy Information Administration said some Middle East producers could find it hard to restore output to pre-war volumes before the close of 2027, even if shipping patterns normalise by early next year. Attention now turns to weekly US storage figures, with analysts estimating a 0.5 million barrel crude draw for the week ended August 7.