Oil prices rose on Monday as fading hopes for a near-term US-Iran ceasefire and continued uncertainty over oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz fueled supply concerns, while markets awaited an upcoming OPEC+ meeting.
International benchmark Brent crude futures for December delivery traded at $98.54 a barrel at 10 a.m. local time (0700 GMT), up 1.1% from the previous close of $97.44.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for November delivery rose 1.4% to $93.71 a barrel from $92.41.
The rise in oil prices was driven by fading expectations of a near-term ceasefire in the region following reports that US President Donald Trump had rejected Iran’s peace proposal.
Trump said Sunday that he anticipates his envoys will take part in negotiations with Iran in the coming days, while adding that Tehran has yet to offer acceptable terms to resolve the ongoing conflict.
“I expect more talks with Iran (this week),” Trump told US news website Axios in an interview, adding: “They want to make a deal, but it is not the deal that I want to make. It is what we would have maybe agreed to a year ago. They overplayed their hand.”
In the meantime, Trump said the US military is actively assisting the movement of petroleum shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, maintaining that tanker traffic reached record levels over the weekend.
He said that more than 20 million barrels of crude transited through the chokepoint, marking the highest volume recorded since the outbreak of hostilities.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News that Iran is ready to negotiate with the US but “fully prepared” to respond to renewed military attacks.
The remarks follow indirect diplomatic exchanges last week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, where Araghchi met with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner via Qatari mediators.
Tehran reportedly offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear talks within a week in return for Washington lifting its naval blockade and sanctions on Iranian oil sales and restoring a regional ceasefire.
Trump rejected the proposal Saturday, dampening prospects for a near-term resolution to the conflict and keeping uncertainty over oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz in focus.
Meanwhile, markets are focused on the Oct. 4 OPEC+ group meeting between Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman.
At their Sept. 6 meeting, the countries agreed to keep their October production targets unchanged from September levels.
