(RTTNews) – Oil prices held steady on Wednesday after recent strong gains amid skepticism that a U.S.-Iran deal would quickly restore Hormuz flows.
Brent crude futures were up 0.3 percent at $89.14 a barrel, rising for the sixth consecutive session following mixed signals surrounding a potential deal between the U.S. and Iran. WTI crude futures edged up by 0.2 percent to $83.34.
Conflicting reports over diplomacy and Strait of Hormuz talks have hampered prospects for reopening the crucial waterway.
The U.S. and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis reported separate attacks on shipping, raising concerns over further supply disruptions and denting prospects for ending the months-old Iran war.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi forces launched fresh ballistic missile attacks on the Red Sea port city of AI-Makha.
U.S. forces fired on a Panama-flagged ship that attempted to run the American blockade of Iranian ports early Tuesday.
Shipping data showed traffic through the strait fell to just six vessels on Monday compared with a 10-day average of about 11 and roughly 125 to 140 vessels before the war.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s defense minister Khawaja Asif said the U.S. and Iran are close to “some sort of an arrangement” and that “things are shaping up again in favor of a peace arrangement or a deal.”
Iranian officials reiterated that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed and negotiations could not resume unless the U.S. complied with a June framework agreement and compensated Iran for alleged violations.
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