By Sethuraman N R and Florence Tan
NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE, Aug 17 (Reuters) – Oil prices were mostly steady on Monday, maintaining gains made last week, as prospects for a lasting U.S.-Iran peace deal appear increasingly remote and fears of supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz are ever present.
Brent crude futures were unchanged at $88.55 by 0128 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures slipped 14 cents to $82.26 a barrel.
Both contracts gained more than 5% last week following attacks on tankers operated by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in the Hormuz strait and on a Saudi Aramco refinery.
Over the weekend, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Iran had not decided to resume talks with the U.S. while U.S. President Donald Trump urged Americans to accept slightly higher gasoline prices while the conflict continues.
“Oil prices have now rebounded almost completely from the lows seen in early August, as hopes for a more permanent resolution between the U.S and Iran have faded and geopolitical risk premiums have returned to the market,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, head of market insights for Phillip Nova in Singapore.
“However, I see limited upside from here unless we get clear evidence of renewed aggression in the Strait of Hormuz, particularly material damage to tankers or oil infrastructure,” she said.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slowed over the weekend, data showed on Monday, following attacks on tankers. Five commodity vessels transited the strait on Saturday, with none registered for Sunday, shiptracking data from Kpler showed, versus 31 for the prior weekend.
The United Arab Emirates accused Iran of attacking a third vessel operated by ADNOC that was transiting the strait on Friday, the Emirati state news agency WAM reported, after blaming it for two other incidents involving ADNOC vessels in the strait on Thursday evening.
(Reporting by Florence Tan and Sethuraman NR; Editing by Sonali Paul and Edwina Gibbs)
