Oil rises as US-Iran deal remains elusive

Highlights
- US to start operation to aid
stranded ships, Trump says
- Iran reviewing US response
to 14-point proposal
- OPEC+ agrees third oil
output quota hike since Hormuz closure
Oil prices edged higher on Monday,
supported by the absence of a US-Iran peace deal that kept supplies constrained
and prices above $100 a barrel.
Brent crude futures were up 67
cents, or 0.6%, to $108.84 a barrel at 0400 GMT after settling down $2.23 on
Friday. US West Texas Intermediate was up 65 cents, also 0.6%, at $102.59 a
barrel, after a $3.13 loss on Friday.
"The broader market remains tightly supported by
persistent supply disruptions and geopolitical uncertainty," said Priyanka
Sachdeva, analyst at Phillip Nova.
"Unless there is a clear and
sustained resolution that restores normal flows through the Strait of Hormuz,
oil prices are likely to remain elevated, with risks still tilted toward
further upside."
President Donald Trump said the US
would begin efforts to assist ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, but
prices stayed above $100 a barrel, with no peace deal in sight and shipping
through the strategic waterway still constrained.
Negotiations between the US and
Iran continued over the weekend, with both sides assessing each other's
responses.
Trump has made securing a nuclear deal with Tehran a priority, but Iran wants
to defer nuclear talks until after the war and first lift rival blockades on
Gulf shipping.
On Sunday, the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, known as OPEC+, said it would
raise oil output targets by 188,000 barrels per day in June for seven members,
marking the third consecutive monthly increase.
The rise matches that agreed for
May, minus the share of the United Arab Emirates, which left OPEC on May 1.
However, the additional barrels are expected to remain largely on paper as long
as the Iran war continues to disrupt Gulf oil supplies through the Strait of
Hormuz.
















