Oil prices ease back as Iran suggests it's open to talks with US

20th Jul 2026 10:22

(Sharecast News) - Oil prices eased back again on Monday after Iran suggested that it remains open to diplomatic talks with the US.

At 1047 BST, Brent crude was down 0.4% at $87.73 a barrel and Brent crude was 1% lower at $81.70 after Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said at a press conference in Tehran: "We have been informed by mediators, we have received messages - without going into details - but the main point is that the diplomatic apparatus has been active in recent days and ideas have been conveyed to us by certain mediators."

Earlier, Brent crude had breached $90 a barrel and hit its highest level since June after US forces attacked Iran for the ninth night and as Tehran pledged that not a "single drop" of oil or gas would transit through the Strait of Hormuz if US aggression continues.

Speaking to reporters on his return to Washington after the World Cup, Trump said: "We hit them very hard again tonight." He said the US had done it in honour of three US soldiers killed in strikes in Jordan and Iraq.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the Strait of Hormuz "will not be safe for the transit of petrochemical products, nor even a single drop of oil and gas" as long as the US strikes continue. It added that it will respond with a "punitive operation".

Konstantinos Chrysikos, head of customer relationship management at Kudo.com, said: "Oil prices retreated after an initial jump earlier today as signs of progress toward a return to diplomatic talks offset renewed tensions in the Middle East over the weekend. Iran said it had received proposals from international mediators aimed at de-escalating the current tensions, reinforcing expectations that a negotiated outcome could still be reached even as military activity in the region continued.

"In the meantime, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz remained precarious, as navigation continues to be severely restricted, keeping the physical market tight. The decline in maritime traffic adds to the risk of a prolonged disruption to regional energy flows and could push prices to the upside.

"Oil markets are likely to remain highly reactive to geopolitical developments in the days ahead. Further progress in mediation efforts could ease supply concerns and extend the retreat in prices. Conversely, failure to initiate diplomatic talks or an escalation in military activity could tighten the physical market further and drive prices back to the upside. In addition, traders will also be watching upcoming stockpiles data closely for further clarity on the state of physical supply."