Oil prices surged on 11 May after US President Donald Trump said Iran’s response to his peace proposal was “unacceptable”, intensifying supply concerns with the Strait of Hormuz still largely closed.
At 09:02 GMT, Brent crude futures had risen by $2.70 or 2.67%, reaching $103.99 per barrel (bbl), reported Reuters.
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Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) had climbed $2.24 to $97.66/bbl, an increase of 2.35%.
Last week, both contracts saw a 6% drop as optimism grew for a swift resolution to the more than two-month-old conflict, potentially reopening oil transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
Energy markets face potential instability despite the possibility of resumed flows, as highlighted by Aramco CEO Amin Nasser, who stated that around one billion barrels of oil had been lost over the past two months.
President Trump is set to visit Beijing on Wednesday, where discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to cover Iran, among other issues, according to US officials, claimed Reuters.
Meanwhile, Kpler shipping data revealed that three additional tankers managed to navigate the Strait of Hormuz last week with trackers turned off to dodge Iranian attacks, indicating a continuous effort to maintain Middle East oil exports.
The data indicated that two very large crude carriers (VLCCs), the Agios Fanourios I and Kiara M, sailed through the strait on Sunday with two million barrels (mbbl) of Iraqi crude apiece.
The Agios Fanourios I is en route to Vietnam and is expected to unload at the Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical complex later this month, after at least two earlier passage attempts failed following its 17 April loading of Basrah Medium.
The Kiara M also left the strait on Sunday while not transmitting its location signal. In a separate movement, the VLCC Basrah Energy took on 2mbbl of Upper Zakum at ADNOC’s Zirku terminal on 1 May and then passed through the strait on 6 May, according to Kpler.
