Oil Prices Surge as US-Iran Deal Hopes Fizzle Amid Shipping Attacks
Oil prices rose on Wednesday as concerns over supply disruptions in the Middle East intensified following doubts about a US-Iran peace deal and attacks on two ships.
The Brent futures contract gained 72 cents, or 0.81 per cent, to $89.63 a barrel by 0053 GMT, while the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 71 cents, or 0.85 per cent, to $83.91.
This marks their highest closes since July 31 and extends gains after jumping about 5 per cent on Monday as hopes for a peace deal between the US and Iran began to fade.
The United States and Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis reported separate attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Tuesday.
Iran's top security official, Mohsen Rezaei, stated that the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping route 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.