Commodities
Oil Prices Rise Amid Fading Hopes for US-Iran Peace Deal
Oil prices rose on Wednesday as concerns about supply disruptions in the Middle East intensified. The US and Iran's fragile peace deal faced fresh doubts, while attacks on two ships fueled worries about shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Brent futures price gained 72 cents, or 0.81%, to $89.63 a barrel by 0053 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 71 cents, or 0.85%, to $83.91.
The attacks on shipping came as Iran's top security official, Mohsen Rezaei, said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed unless the US accepted Iran's conditions for ending the war, including the release of frozen Iranian assets and an end to other conflicts across the region.