Brent Crude Climbs for 2nd Day

Brent crude rose to around $107.5 a barrel on Tuesday, its highest level in four months, extending the previous session’s 1% gain as traders focused on ongoing disruptions to Middle Eastern supplies. Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline remains offline after attacks last week, limiting an important alternative route for transporting crude around the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Aramco has not provided a timeline for its restart, while Riyadh is seeking to increase shipments through Hormuz to offset the disruption. Meanwhile, Iran said it would not negotiate with Washington until its conditions are met, despite US President Donald Trump suggesting that Tehran was eager to reach a deal. Separately, conflicting statements from Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy raised uncertainty over a potential halt to attacks on energy infrastructure.

Brent crude climbed above $107 per barrel on Tuesday following a volatile start to the week, as investors continued to navigate heightened uncertainty over global supply. Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, which provides an alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz, remains shut following drone attacks, with no clear indication of when operations will resume. A diplomatic meeting between Iran and the Gulf Arab states to discuss the situation in Hormuz was also abruptly postponed. Meanwhile, Iran claimed that a supertanker attempting to enter a restricted area in Hormuz exploded after striking mines, while maintaining that it would not engage in talks with the US until its demands are met. In Eastern Europe, President Zelenskyy said Ukraine is prepared to halt attacks on Russian energy targets if Russia does the same, contradicting US President Trump’s claim that Moscow and Kyiv had already agreed to suspend strikes against each other’s energy infrastructure.

Brent traded near $106 a barrel on Monday after reaching a four-month high of $110 earlier in the session. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said Ukraine is willing to halt attacks on Russian energy targets if Russia agrees to do the same. He added that “Ukraine is not convinced that Russia is willing to abide by any agreement.” Zelenskyy’s conditional statement undercut a claim by US President Trump that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to suspend strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia closed its critical pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, further constraining global supplies. Drones launched from Iraq damaged the East-West pipeline on Thursday, forcing the Saudi government to shut it down. A diplomatic meeting between Iran and the Gulf Arab states to discuss the situation in Hormuz was abruptly postponed following the pipeline attack. The number of commodity vessels observed transiting the Strait of Hormuz fell to single digits over the weekend.