Ammon News - Oil prices tumbled more than $4 a barrel on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump held off on a fresh attack on Iran, seeking to reach a quick deal that would halt Tehran's nuclear ambitions and reopen ​the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures slid $4.49, or 5.11%, to $83.44 by 0408 GMT while U.S. ​West Texas Intermediate crude was at $79.77 a barrel, down $4.90, or 5.79%.

Both contracts jumped ⁠more than 20% last month after fighting between the U.S. and Iran resumed and ​as attacks on several tankers around Oman heightened security concerns, deterring shippers from entering the ​Gulf to load oil.

In a sign of de-escalation, Trump said late on Saturday on his Truth Social platform that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked for time to complete a deal that would lead ​to "the Immediate, Complete and Total" reopening of the vital strait and "an end to Iran's ​nuclear threat".

"The bigger focus is whether this week turns into a rinse and repeat of last week — ‌with hopes ⁠of a deal collapsing as Iran digs in its heels and continues to leverage its control over the Strait, potentially through an attack on a U.S. base or a tanker transiting the waterway," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.

Two tankers laden with Saudi oil crossed the ​Bab el-Mandeb Strait out of ​the Red Sea over ⁠the weekend while traffic in the Strait of Hormuz slowed following reports of vessel attacks, shipping data showed on Monday.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations ​has reported three more tanker attacks since Saturday.

On Sunday, OPEC+ approved an ​oil production ⁠quota increase of around 188,000 barrels per day from September, the producer group said, in a move that completes the unwinding of a layer of voluntary output cuts.

Due to export disruptions ⁠from the ​Gulf, Russia and Kazakhstan caused by the Iran and ​Ukraine wars, successive monthly OPEC+ hikes over most of this year have remained largely on paper with little impact ​on the market.


Reuters