Oil prices rise as US, Iran protests threaten Strait of Hormuz reopening | Oil and Gas

Brent crude rises as tit-for-tat hits the kingdom for normalcy in the waterway.

Oil prices have risen in the wake of recent tensions in the war between the United States and Iran.

Brent crude, the world’s main benchmark, rose about 0.9 percent on Monday after strikes by the US and Iran over the weekend raised doubts about a return to normal flow in the Strait of Hormuz.

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Brent futures for August delivery were at $73.21 a barrel as of 03:30 GMT, 127 cents higher than the day before the US and Israel launched their war on Iran on February 28.

“The slight pullback in Brent this morning shows a market that may have been too quick to close,” Fabien Yip, a market analyst at IG in Sydney, Australia, told Al Jazeera.

“Oil was on the verge of withdrawing all its military spending, despite the lack of detail in the MoU and the constant strikes. Thursday’s attack on a merchant vessel was a real check, and this week’s exchange has added to that,” Yip said.

Asian markets were mixed on Monday morning, with losses in Tokyo and Seoul and gains in Hong Kong and Taipei.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was down 0.7 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.9 percent.

Japanese and Korean stocks linked to the AI ​​boom saw big losses amid a heated debate over whether tech companies’ massive investments in emerging technologies will benefit.

Japan’s tech giant SoftBank Group fell nearly 5 percent, while Advantest Corporation, which makes semiconductor test equipment, fell 3.7 percent.

South Korean memory chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell about 5 percent and 4 percent, respectively.

Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index and Taiwan’s Taiex both rose, gaining 2.2 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.

“Quarterly profit-taking adds to the pressure on the market, as investors are about to reap the benefits of what has been a remarkable performance. The Kospi is up nearly 95 percent this year, and the Nikkei is up 37 percent,” IG’s Yip said.

“The concern, however, is whether the growth of AI will continue to translate into financial viability, or if margin pressure is coming sooner than the market expected.”

On Friday and Saturday, the US Central Command declared war on Iran, referring to Iran’s attack on two commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, which in peacetime serves as one of the five routes for international trade in oil and natural gas.

Iran responded to the attack by launching several missiles and drones targeting US military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait.

Washington and Tehran have agreed to stop the attack and resume talks to end the conflict, several media outlets reported late Sunday, citing unnamed US officials.

Axios, citing an unnamed US official, said the sides will hold talks in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday.

Iran has not commented on the proposed cease-fire agreement or planned talks.

US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding to end the war on June 17, but the agreement has been repeatedly plagued by outbreaks of violence and disagreements over the meaning of the document.