FX.co ★ Oil Recovers from 5-Month Low

Crude oil prices climbed back above $70 per barrel on Monday, edging up from a four-month low as reduced shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz offset a generally optimistic market tone. Commercial vessels resumed transiting the strategic waterway after a brief halt in hostilities, but overall traffic declined, with weekend attacks dealing a serious blow to corporate confidence. Geopolitical focus has now turned to near-term diplomacy, as US President Donald Trump announced that the United States and Iran will hold new peace talks on Tuesday in Doha, Qatar. The diplomatic push follows a turbulent weekend marked by US retaliatory strikes on Iranian military positions. Despite the latest flare-up, both countries have agreed to pause direct clashes to allow maritime trade to continue, reinforcing a broader decline in energy costs that has pushed crude prices back to levels last seen before the war began on February 28.