Shafaq News
Oil prices extended gains on Monday, rising nearly 2% aspeace talks between the U.S. and Iran stalled while shipments through theStrait of Hormuz remained limited, keeping global oil supplies tight.
Brent crude futures rose $2.16, or 2.05%, to $107.49 a barrelby 2346 GMT, the highest since April 7, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate was at$96.17 a barrel, up $1.77, or 1.88%.
Last week,Brent and WTI gained nearly 17% and 13%, respectively, the biggest weekly gainssince the start of the war.
Hopes of reviving peace efforts receded during the weekendwhen U.S. President Donald Trump scrapped a planned trip to Islamabad by hisenvoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, even as Iranian Foreign Minister AbbasAraqchi arrived In Pakistan.
"This move puts the ball squarely back in Iran’s court,and the clock is now ticking loudly," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore saidin a note, adding thatTehran may be forced to shut production at its aging oil fields when it runsout of storage capacity.
Tehran has largely closed the strait while Washington hasimposed a blockade of Iran's ports. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuzremained limited, with just oneoil products tanker entering the Gulf on Sunday, shipping data from Kplershowed.
Goldman Sachs raised its oil price forecasts for the fourthquarter to $90 a barrel for Brent crude and $83 for WTI citing reduced output from the Middle East.
"The economic risks are larger than our crude base casealone suggests because of the net upside risks to oil prices, unusually high refined product prices,products shortages risks, and the unprecedented scale of the shock," GSanalysts led by Daan Struyven said in an April 26 note.
(Reuters)
Only the headline is edited by Shafaq News staff.
