Oil steadies as Brent nears $100, WTI holds below $96 after four-day slide
Brent and WTI stabilize after an eight percent drop over four days, as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz shows signs of easing and U.S. and Iranian officials prepare for talks in New York.
Published
Chart: USO, a fund that tracks crude, one-minute prices, two sessions
Oil prices held steady on Monday after a four-day slide of nearly 8%, with Brent crude trading near $100 a barrel and WTI just under $96. The drop had followed weeks of attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and the shutdown of a Saudi bypass pipeline, whose repair timeline remains unclear.
That followed an earlier incident in which an LPG tanker was struck by projectile debris, prompting the redirection of 110 vessels away from the waterway while Iran's crude exports stayed blocked.
Even so, more than 1 billion barrels have passed through the strait in recent months, pointing to a blockade that has curbed Iranian exports without halting the broader flow of oil through the passage.
The steadying in prices reverses a selloff that had been driven by fears of a wider supply disruption, suggesting traders are pricing in either genuine de-escalation or confidence that flows will keep moving without a major break. That reprieve depends on diplomacy actually taking hold: attacks have continued, Iran has warned of a wider conflict, and the Saudi pipeline remains offline with no clear date for repair.