Brent oil briefly tops $108 per barrel after Iran peace talks unravel
Ships and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz off the Musandam coast of Oman, April 18, 2026.
Stringer | Reuters
Oil prices rose Monday morning as plans for a second round of peace talks between the United States and Iran resurfaced.
International comparison Brent Oil futures for June delivery rose over 3% to $108.90 per barrel as of 11:20 GMT. WE West Texas Intermediate Futures for June delivery rose nearly 3% to $97.10.
“Oil is trading stronger this morning after attempts to get U.S.-Iran peace talks back on track failed, dashing hopes of an imminent resumption of energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz,” Warren Patterson, head of commodity strategy at Dutch bank ING, said in a research note. he said.
“Failure to make progress means the market is tightening day by day, requiring oil prices to be repriced at higher levels,” he added.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs raised its oil price forecast on Sunday. According to the bank, it will take longer than expected for exports through the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf production to return to normal.
Goldman now expects Brent prices to average $90 per barrel in the fourth quarter; that figure was $80 below the bank’s previous estimate. He expects West Texas oil to average $83 a barrel, up from $75 previously.
Although uncertainty seems great, Iran A new offer was made to the USA Axios reported on Monday, citing a US official and two sources with knowledge of the matter, that he suggested postponing nuclear talks in order to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war.
President Donald Trump on Saturday canceled plans to send U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad, Pakistan, for talks with Iran.
“So much time wasted traveling, so much work! And there is tremendous infighting and confusion within the ‘leaderships,'” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“No one, including them, knows who is responsible,” the president said. “Besides, we have all the cards, they don’t! If they want to talk, just call!!!”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi traveled to Islamabad over the weekend but met only with Pakistani officials before leaving.
“There are no plans for any meeting between Iran and the United States,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a social media post late Friday.
— CNBC’s Sarah Whitten, Azhar Shukri And Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report.
