Khaberni - Oil prices recovered and surged by more than 5% on Monday, amid fears of a ceasefire collapse between Washington and Tehran after the United States detained an Iranian cargo ship and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained largely halted.
Brent crude futures jumped $5.08 per barrel, or 5.62%, to reach $95.46 per barrel, while the price of West Texas Intermediate crude reached $88.86 per barrel, up $5.01 or 5.97%.
Crude oil prices fell 9% on Friday, recording their biggest daily drop since April 18th, after Iran announced that the Hormuz Strait was open to all commercial ships for the remaining period of the ceasefire, and President Donald Trump said Iran had agreed not to close the strait again.
Joan Gu, senior oil market analyst at Sparta Commodities said, "Within 24 hours of Friday's announcement of 'full opening', there were already tankers being shot at by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, leading to further concerns among shipping companies about trying to leave."
She added, "The fundamental market conditions are worsening, as there are still 10 to 11 million barrels per day of crude oil blocked."
The United States said on Sunday that it had detained an Iranian cargo ship attempting to break the blockade imposed by Washington on Iranian ports, while Tehran said it would respond amid growing fears of a resumption of hostilities.
Tehran also announced it would not participate in the second round of negotiations that the United States hoped would begin before the end of the two-week ceasefire with Iran this week.
Kepler data showed that more than 20 ships crossed the strait on Saturday loaded with oil, liquefied petroleum gas, metals, and fertilizers, the highest number of ships crossing the waterway since March 1st.
