Oil prices rise as reports of fresh US-Iran strikes overshadow Hormuz deal hopes

Investing.com-- Oil prices rose in Asian trade on Tuesday, after reports said that the U.S. had carried out fresh attacks against Iran, offsetting hopes that a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was close.

Brent oil futures for July rose 2% to $98.10 a barrel by 00:11 ET (04:11 GMT), while West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 1.7% to $91.83/barrel. WTI futures did not settle on Monday on account of a U.S. market holiday.

Brent slid nearly 3% on Monday.

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US launches strikes in southern Iran, reports say

Reports on Monday evening said the U.S. had launched fresh strikes against missile launch sites and mine-laying boats in southern Iran.

The U.S. military claimed that the strikes were in “self defense,” and that a ceasefire with Iran remained in place.

Tehran warned that any attacks against Iranian military targets will be met with retaliation, although there were no reports of any attacks by Iran.

The renewed military action largely offset a host of earlier reports that the U.S. and Iran had reached a framework deal to end the war and reopen Hormuz. Oil prices had fallen sharply on Monday following these reports, although a lack of clarity on the front limited crude’s decline.

U.S. President Donald Trump had on Monday flagged progress in negotiations with Iran, and claimed that the Islamic republic will hand over its enriched uranium holdings.

Iran had largely denied any plans to relinquish its uranium, although reports showed the country open to eventual negotiations over its nuclear activities.

Hormuz reopening deal in focus, Rubio says it could take time

Despite reports of ongoing negotiations, oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz remained at a fraction of pre-war levels.

A host of reports in recent sessions said the U.S. and Iran were close to a framework deal to reopen the waterway.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after Monday’s strikes that the Strait of Hormuz was going to open "one way or the other."

But he also noted that negotiating a deal with Iran could "take a few days," leaving it unclear just how close a U.S.-Iran agreement actually was.

Hormuz is a focal point in the Iran conflict, as its closure disrupted roughly a fifth of global oil supplies.