Oil prices rose on Monday (June 29) following days of tit-for-tat strikes by the U.S. and Iran that underscored the fragility of their interim peace deal and again slowed energy shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 climbed 45 cents, or 0.6%, to $72.44 a barrel at 0627 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was at $70.05 a barrel, up 82 cents, or 1.2%.
"There's still plenty of risk facing the oil market. Even so, participants appear to be ... focusing on what a continued recovery in oil flows would mean for the global balance," ING analysts said in a note on Monday.
"This complacency is odd and clearly leaves significant upside risk if the supply recovery proves slow."
Brent crude fell 10.6% last week, its third weekly decline, after crude shipments through the strait rose last week to their highest level since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began in late February.
However, traffic has since slowed following renewed attacks on ships in the strait from Thursday (June25), including a Qatar-linked oil tanker, that triggered strikes from the U.S. and Iran in the worst escalation since they signed an interim peace deal.
Posted by: Alma Angeles/NET25 News
