Crude oil prices settled lower on Tuesday after two major developments—-President Trump’s decision to hold off on renewing the war against Iran and Vice President JD Vance’s statement indicating that progress had been made in talks with the country.
However, Iran is still making reparations demands from the U.S. Iran wants the U.S. blockade and sanctions to be lifted and Iran’s frozen funds to be released in the latest peace proposal to the United States, Iranian state media reported on Tuesday.
Brent fell 82 cents of 0.73% and closed at $111.28 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 89 cents or 0.82% to finish at $107.77.
Even with the drips, Brent was at its highest since May 5 and WTI at its highest price since April 30.
The Middle East conflict has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway that typically carries daily about a fifth of global supplies of oil and liquefied natural gas, creating the world’s biggest oil supply disruption, according to the International Energy Agency, reported Reuters.
- Most commercial tanker traffic through Hormuz has effectively stopped, leaving around 100 non-Iranian tankers stranded inside the Persian Gulf.
- A limited number of shipowners, including Greece’s Dynacom Tankers, continue making risky crossings using tactics such as disabling transponders and sailing at night.
Natural gas rose more than 3% on Tuesday, finishing at $3.119 MMBtu with a gain of $0.095 or 3.14%.
Tuesday was a down day for most Oklahoma energy stocks. The losses included 7% for Stardust Power and more than 6% for USA Rare Earth minerals along with a nearly 6% drop for Empire Petroleum Corp. Gains included 4% for SandRidge Energy.
