Oil prices fell slightly on Tuesday after rising overnight, following Monday’s sharp sell-off, as investors continue to await further details on the US-Iran deal aimed at ending the Middle East conflict.
Brent crude Futures, the international price benchmark, were last seen down 0.53% at $82.74 early Tuesday morning. WE West Texas Intermediate Futures contracts for July delivery were down 0.41% at $80.44.
Oil futures rose slightly overnight before reversing, falling to their lowest level since March 4 in the previous session.
This volatility reflects continued uncertainty over the full terms of the peace framework agreed between the The United States and Iran.
The drive to resolve the war will dominate G7 leaders’ discussions in Évian-les-Bains, France, from today, with further details of the memorandum of understanding expected to be released later this week.
Oil tanker bosses remain cautious about Hormuz transitWashington and Tehran had already reached an agreement provisional agreement Sunday, which would extend the ceasefire between the United States and Iran by 60 days and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to all shipping.
Arriving at the G7 meeting, President Donald Trump said the peace framework with Iran had been signed, adding that the Strait of Hormuz would be “fully reopened” on Friday, without Iranian tolls. Trump said a formal signing ceremony would take place Friday in Geneva.
Hapag-Lloyd, the German container shipping giant, hailed the prospect of a peace deal and an end to all military action in the region as “good news for us, for our crews and for our customers”.
“We hope that our four remaining ships will be able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz this weekend,” Hapag-Lloyd said in a statement.
However, the head of the world’s largest tanker operator suggested a more complex path to normalize traffic across the strait, which accounted for about 20% of global oil supplies before the war broke out in late February.
Jotaro Tamura, general manager of Mitsui OSK Lines, told the Financial Times On Tuesday, many operators could wait weeks before allowing their tankers to resume transit through the strait.
“What will need to be put in place is not just a simple agreement between the countries involved, but it must be concrete and translated into real situations in the Strait of Hormuz, so that shipping companies can feel comfortable crossing it,” Tamura said.