Brent crude slips about 1 per cent from six-month high to $115.60 a barrel

Talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz have stalled, with Tehran saying the US blockade of Iran must be lifted first.

Brent crude slipped about 1 per cent from a six-month high, to around $115.60 a barrel. Geopolitical risk remains elevated, with US-Iran tensions rising.

The US is sending a third aircraft carrier strike group and 10,000 more personnel toward the Persian Gulf. The Revolutionary Guard has threatened to sink US ships. Oman has tied the reopening of the strait to a US-Iran track that keeps collapsing. Recent developments point to tensions holding or worsening rather than resolving.

Iran says a blockade of its southern ports has cut its imports by 25 per cent, according to the Iranian news agency ISNA. Rice in Iran is up more than 60 per cent and beef more than 150 per cent since the war began, and medicine is in short supply.

CBA analyst Vivek Dhar says Brent may need to reach $150 a barrel before demand in emerging Asia falls sharply.

Higher oil has already fed inflation concerns earlier in this cycle, and those concerns weighed on risk assets. That matters for broader equities.

Israel's election is on October 27. Netanyahu says intelligence indicates Iran and its proxies may try to disrupt the vote. Trump endorsed Netanyahu ahead of it, in a post.