Oil Rises 1% as US-Iran Peace Talks Stall
Source: US News & World Report/Reuters
April 26, 2026, at 6:13 p.m.
SINGAPORE, April 27 (Reuters) - Oil prices were up more than 1% on Monday 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 $1.35, or 1.3%, to $106.68 a barrel by 0453 GMT, retreating from early session gains of over $2 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was at $95.35 a barrel, up 95 cents, or 1%.
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 U.S. 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.
"President Trump's recent post on Truth Social, urging to shoot and kill any Iranian boat laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, alongside his claims of having full control over Hormuz, has continued to fuel elevated war premiums," said Priyanka Sachdeva, analyst at Phillip Nova.
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.
Read more: https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2026-04-26/oil-jumps-more-than-2-as-us-iran-peace-talks-stall
WTI was bopping around $96 - $97/bbl.