Oil Rises Amid Mixed Signals Over Talks to Reopen Strait of Hormuz — Update

By Ronnie Harui

Oil prices rose Tuesday afternoon in Asia amid mixed signals over efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran said Monday that there weren't any negotiations under way with the U.S. nor were any meetings planned, after President Trump said he had called off a major strike on the Middle Eastern country to provide more time for talks on freeing up shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which one-fifth of the world's oil is transported.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei rejected Trump's suggestion that negotiations were under way, noting that Iran hadn't sent any delegations or negotiators to take part in any discussions.

In a social-media post Monday, Trump described Iran's leadership as "unbelievably duplicitous," saying they had asked for negotiations on ending the conflict and then announced that no discussions were being held. Later, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office: "This is the last chance for them to sign a good document."

However, the Iranian foreign ministry acknowledged that Iran was continuing talks with Oman on how to manage the Strait of Hormuz. The talks between Oman and Iran are focused on finding temporary arrangements over shipping transits in the strait.

"We've been in this situation multiple times before, only to see things unravel," ING's commodities strategy team said in a note. "And with Iran denying that any talks are underway and Trump issuing warnings if no deal materializes, the backdrop clearly leaves ample room for a renewed escalation," the bank added.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures advanced 0.8% to $80.99 per barrel and front-month Brent crude oil futures rose 1.3% to $84.89 a barrel, ICE data showed. Oil futures had slid Monday on optimism over U.S.-Iran talks.

Equity markets across the Asia-Pacific region were mixed as investors parsed artificial-intelligence developments. Alibaba Group released its new AI model, Qwen 3.8-Max, in a sign that China's AI push could sustain competitive pressure in the global AI model space.

South Korea's Kospi rose 1.1%, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average added 0.3% and China's Shanghai Composite was 0.5% higher. Meanwhile, Taiwan's Taiex edged 0.1% lower and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 0.8%.

"After a turbulent start to the week, most APAC markets traded warily, waiting for the next shoe to drop," InTouch Capital Markets said in commentary.

Write to Ronnie Harui at ronnie.harui@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 04, 2026 02:29 ET (06:29 GMT)