Oil Prices Rebound on Renewed Middle East Tensions
Oil prices rebounded by 1% on Tuesday after concerns about Middle East supply disruptions resurfaced. The previous session saw oil plummet to a three-week low, but Brent futures rose $1.12 to $84.89 a barrel as of 0355 GMT.
The U.S.-Iran conflict has been ongoing, with no clear diplomatic resolution in sight. This has kept the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway connecting Gulf oil producers to global markets, at risk. The strait is responsible for about one-fifth of global shipments of crude oil and natural gas.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he was holding off on new attacks on Iran pending ongoing talks to end their war and settle claims over control of the Strait of Hormuz. However, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei rejected this claim, stating no negotiations with the U.S. were taking place.
Analysts from ING noted that 'the scale of the sell-off seems fairly overdone, given that there's still considerable uncertainty.' They added that 'we've been in this situation multiple times before, only to see things unravel.'