Oil prices held steady in early trade on Monday as vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz nearly ground to a halt, while Iran-US talks showed no progress, according to Business-Today. Brent crude gained 0.42% to $88.89 per barrel and WTI crude rose 0.21% to $82.57 as of 7:20 am.
Price Momentum
Both benchmarks surged more than 5% last week, Business-Today reported, following attacks on tankers operated by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) in the Strait of Hormuz and a separate attack on a Saudi Aramco refinery.
Hormuz Traffic Collapse
Trading activity through the Strait of Hormuz came to a near halt over the weekend. Kpler's shiptracking data, cited by Business-Today, showed only five commodity vessels crossed the strait on Saturday, while no such vessels were recorded on Sunday, compared with 31 crossings during the previous weekend. The recorded traffic was a fraction of the more than 130 vessels that crossed the waterway each day before the war launched by the US and Israel on Iran in February, the report said. The waterway carried a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war.
Among the vessels recorded entering the waterway on Saturday was an empty Very Large Crude Carrier whose Automatic Identification System was switched off. An Indian-flagged Very Large Gas Carrier also entered using the Iranian route, while a small tanker carrying Iranian fuel oil was recorded leaving the strait, Reuters reported.
Attacks on ADNOC Vessels
The slowdown followed attacks on three ADNOC-operated vessels in the waterway last week. The UAE said a third vessel operated by ADNOC was attacked while passing through the strait on Friday, according to the Emirati state news agency WAM. The UAE had earlier blamed Iran for two other incidents involving ADNOC vessels on Thursday evening.
Iran-US Talks Stall
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran is yet to decide whether to resume negotiations with Washington, Business-Today reported. US President Donald Trump told Americans to accept somewhat higher gasoline prices for as long as the conflict continues. The United States has said it could maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely, while Araqchi said on Saturday that Washington would need to meet Iran's conditions concerning the strait before shipping could resume.
Bab el-Mandeb Traffic Drops
Traffic was also lower at the Bab el-Mandeb strait, where Yemeni Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia on July 20. Kpler recorded 49 commodity vessel transits over the weekend, compared with 55 the previous week, and no Saudi oil shipments were tracked, Business-Today reported.
Strait Traffic Comparison
| Waterway | Period | Vessel crossings |
|---|---|---|
| Strait of Hormuz | Previous weekend | 31 |
| Strait of Hormuz | Saturday | 5 |
| Strait of Hormuz | Sunday | 0 |
| Strait of Hormuz | Pre-war daily average | 130+ |
| Bab el-Mandeb | Previous weekend | 55 |
| Bab el-Mandeb | This weekend | 49 |
The combination of near-zero Hormuz traffic and the political standoff leaves the market focused on Iran's conditions for resuming shipments through the strait, which Iran's foreign minister said have not been met.
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