Brent oil futures rose 0.9% to $106.64 a barrel by 20:16 ET (00:16 GMT), while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures increased the same amount to $102.34 a barrel. Analysts noted that the Houthi developments could disrupt an additional 4% to 5% of global oil supplies.
The Strait of Hormuz, which prior to the U.S.-Iran conflict carried about a fifth of the world's oil, remains a focal point of market anxiety. On Monday, Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis launched further strikes against several targets in Saudi Arabia, adding to the pressure on oil exports after strikes the previous week that took Riyadh's east‑west pipeline offline. U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his claim that Iran was seeking a peace deal.
On Sunday, Oman announced the postponement of a scheduled Monday meeting between Iran and Gulf states aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz; no new date was provided. Iran said a Panamanian‑flagged oil tanker had been struck by sea mines while transiting Hormuz, a statement denied by U.S. Central Command, which called the report false. Tehran also rejected Trump's peace‑deal assertion, stating that talks would not occur until its conditions were met.
Market observers said flows through the Strait remained at a fraction of pre‑war levels and that crude's risk premium persisted due to the delayed negotiations and ongoing fears of supply disruption.
