Crude oil inched up to around $102 per barrel on Tuesday after a turbulent start to the week, as investors continued to grapple with heightened uncertainty over global supply. Saudi Arabia’s East–West pipeline, a key alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, remains offline following drone attacks, with no clear timeline for resuming operations. A planned diplomatic meeting between Iran and Gulf Arab states to discuss the situation in Hormuz was also abruptly postponed.
At the same time, Iran claimed that a supertanker attempting to enter a restricted area in Hormuz exploded after hitting mines, while reiterating that it will not enter talks with the US until its conditions are met. In Eastern Europe, President Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine is prepared to halt strikes on Russian energy facilities if Russia does the same, contradicting US President Trump’s assertion that Moscow and Kyiv had already agreed to suspend attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure.
