Oil hangs onto gains as US-Iran peace talks stall, Hormuz shipping slows

Oil prices held near last week's gains on Monday, Business Recorder reported, as optimism about a durable agreement between Washington and Tehran waned. Brent was flat at $88.55 a barrel by 0128 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate fell 14 cents to $82.26. Both contracts rose over 5 per cent last week after attacks on Abu Dhabi National Oil Company tankers and a Saudi Aramco refinery.

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi stated over the weekend that Tehran had yet to decide on resuming talks with Washington. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump told Americans to tolerate higher gasoline costs while fighting persists. Priyanka Sachdeva of Phillip Nova in Singapore said crude has recovered nearly all of its early-August losses as risk premiums return. She sees little scope for further gains unless hostilities resume in the strait, especially if tankers or oil facilities are seriously harmed.

Hormuz traffic fell over the weekend, with five cargo ships crossing on Saturday and none on Sunday, versus 31 the prior weekend, Kpler data showed. The UAE has blamed Iran for a strike on a third ADNOC-run ship on Friday, according to state agency WAM, after two earlier incidents on Thursday evening. This links Hormuz shipping disruption to global crude prices, a factor for oil and gas exploration, marketing and refinery companies.