SINGAPORE: Oil prices held above $103 a barrel on Thursday after gaining about 4% in the previous session, as traders assessed the lack of concrete progress in US-Iran diplomacy alongside continuing supply risks in the Gulf.
Brent crude futures were up 43 cents, or 0.4%, at $103.51 a barrel at 0630 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate futures rose 35 cents, or 0.4%, to $92.51.
Both benchmarks had fallen earlier in Asian trading before recovering.
The move followed a roughly 4% rise in the previous session and came as investors weighed renewed diplomatic contacts in New York against the absence of an announced agreement to end the war or resolve restrictions around the Strait of Hormuz.
A senior Iranian official said Tehran was reviewing Washington’s response to its proposals and that diplomacy should continue despite major differences between the two sides.
Hormuz keeps supply risk in focus
Energy markets remain highly sensitive to developments around Hormuz because the strait is a critical route for Gulf oil and liquefied natural gas exports.
Visible shipping traffic remains well below normal levels, while attacks on commercial vessels and continuing military tensions have added to uncertainty over supplies, freight and insurance.
Iran has made the US naval blockade and reopening Hormuz central issues in its diplomatic proposals.
The latest price movement therefore reflects several overlapping factors rather than a single headline from the talks. Traders are assessing the prospect of diplomacy alongside the physical disruption to shipping and the risk of further escalation.
For Pakistan, sustained high international oil prices can increase pressure on the import bill and domestic fuel costs, although local prices also depend on exchange rates, taxation and the government’s pricing decisions.
The immediate market focus remains on whether negotiations in New York produce a concrete change in the conflict or maritime conditions.