Crude oil prices on Tuesday surged above $109 per barrel amid the ongoing diplomatic impasse between Iran and the United States over the Strait of Hormuz. Investors are also gearing up for key US Federal Reserve meetings and earnings reports from Wall Street giants this week.
Oil prices extended gains on Tuesday, with Brent heading back towards $110 a barrel, while stock markets struggled.
West Texas Intermediate rose 1.0 per cent to $97.32 a barrel, while Brent North Sea Crude rose 1.0 per cent to $109.27 a barrel.
Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Sydney led losses, though there were gains in Seoul, Singapore, Taipei and Jakarta. That came after the S&P 500 and NASDAQ once again hit record highs in New York.
According to mediators, a “written message” from Iran has been sent to Washington via Pakistan spelling out its red lines in peace talks, especially regarding the nuclear programme.
While the White House has confirmed a meeting between President Donald Trump and his administration, nothing has been made public about what exactly was discussed in the meeting.
Iran has offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz unconditionally but, at the same time, has refused to negotiate on the nuclear programme.
Analysts believe that Trump is seeking to end the war with Iran on favourable terms, which have been rejected by the Iranian side so far.
Iran’s envoy to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, told a Security Council session that the country would first need guarantees that Washington and Israel would not attack again if it were to offer security assurances in the Gulf.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran’s stance on the Strait of Hormuz did not meet US demands, saying, “If what they mean by opening the straits is, ‘yes, the straits are open as long as you coordinate with Iran, get our permission or we’ll blow you up and you pay us,’ that’s not opening the straits.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in St Petersburg on Monday and discussed possibilities to end the ongoing US-Iran war.
Putin assured Araghchi that his country would do everything it could to halt the Middle East war.
Also read: Trade pact with EU, US in next few months: Goyal
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