The oil price today fell sharply, with Brent crude down nearly 5% on Monday, as Qatar’s prime minister headed to the White House with an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
What happened to oil prices today?
Brent crude futures for January delivery were down 4.7% at $93.68 a barrel at 14:11 GMT, against Friday’s settlement of $98.32.
Brent hit an intraday low of $93.32, just above the two-month low of $93.22 it touched last week.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures for December fell 4.3% to $86.91, from $90.83 on Friday, after dipping as low as $86.50.
Brent was down less than 1% earlier on Monday on fresh attacks near the Strait of Hormuz.
The drop extends a steep slide. Brent lost more than 16% last week, its biggest weekly fall since April 2020, after falling below $100 on Wednesday.
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani is due to meet President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance on Monday, Reuters reported.
The deal carries an Iranian proposal for an interim deal to reopen Hormuz.
According to the report, the proposal says Iran would reopen the strait and halt attacks on Gulf tankers.
Washington would lift its blockade of Iran and release $8 billion in Iranian funds frozen in Qatar. Neither government has confirmed the terms.
On Sunday, Trump said fresh US strikes on Iran were “highly unlikely” as long as talks progressed.
Supply is also weighing on prices.
JPMorgan estimated on Friday that the global market ran a surplus of 1.1 million barrels per day in September, widening to 1.4 million bpd in October.
“Weakness in the physical market, supported by still-elevated flows out of the Middle East, is one factor weighing on prices,” UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said in a Reuters report.
What happens next?
A deal is far from certain. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday called Tehran’s demands “outrageous and ridiculous”.
Attacks have continued on ships in the Strait.
A tanker leaving Hormuz was hit by an unknown projectile over the weekend, UK Maritime Trade Operations said, and Yemen’s Houthis damaged Saudi Aramco’s offices in Riyadh.
Jorge Leon, head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy, warned the move could unwind. “If we see renewed escalation, much of last week’s oil price decline could quickly reverse,” he said in a Bloomberg report.
After the White House meeting, traders will watch monthly reports from the EIA on Tuesday, OPEC on Wednesday and the IEA on Friday.
Should you buy oil now?
Brent and WTI are swinging several dollars a day on headlines from Washington, Doha and Tehran, and a single statement on Hormuz could reverse Monday’s move.
See our guide to learn how to trade commodities.
Traders will look out for news from the White House and Tehran for a confirmed deal.
AI disclosure: AI tools assisted with research and drafting of this piece. An Invezz editor reviewed the facts, sources and wording before publication. Any opinions or analysis are Invezz’s, not those of an automated system.
The post Brent sinks nearly 5% as Qatar takes Iran Hormuz plan to Trump appeared first on Invezz