Oil climbs nearly 2% as US-Iran peace talks stall

Oil prices extended gains on Monday, rising nearly ‌2% as peace talks between the U.S. and Iran stalled while shipments through the Strait of Hormuz remained limited, keeping global oil supplies tight.

Brent crude futures rose $2.16, or 2.05%, to $107.49 ​a barrel by 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 gains since the start of the war.

Hopes of reviving peace efforts receded ​during the weekend when US President Donald Trump scrapped a planned trip to Islamabad by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, even as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi 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 said in a note, ‌adding ⁠that Tehran may be forced to shut production at its aging oil fields when it runs out of storage capacity.

Tehran has largely closed the strait while Washington has imposed a blockade of Iran’s ports. Traffic through the Strait ​of Hormuz remained limited, ​with just ⁠one oil products tanker entering the Gulf on Sunday, shipping data from Kpler showed.

Goldman Sachs raised its oil price forecasts for ​the fourth quarter 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 case alone 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,” GS analysts led by Daan Struyven said in an ​April 26 note.

Procter & Gamble on Friday warned of a roughly $1 billion hit to its profit over its next fiscal year due to surging oil prices.