Thursday 06 August 2026 6:30 am
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Thursday 06 August 2026 4:43 pm
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Oil prices have fluctuated around the $80 mark over the last 24 hours following mixed developments coming out of the Middle East.
Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – was heading towards $79 per barrel on Thursday morning, holding up a near 10 per cent loss for the week, after Iran and Oman reported progress in sealing a deal to govern shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. This followed a brief rise higher on Wednesday after an attack by the Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen claimed they targeted a Saudi oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden.
Tehran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said a deal with Oman was “in the final stages” but warned it would not guarantee safe navigation through the strait.
Baqaei argued security remained impacted by the US blockade of Iran’s ports. Tehran officials have also said the US were not involved in advancing talks in a move that contradicts rhetoric coming out of the White House.
“We were all set for the biggest attack since World War II, and they called me, and they said, ‘Please don’t do it, let’s talk,’” Trump said on Wednesday, referencing cancelled strikes by the US from Sunday.
The President claimed the US was “knocking the hell out of” Iran but added he would “rather make a deal, because I don’t want to kill people.”
Trump later reiterated “a lot of progress had been made” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and hinted an announcement could be made soon.
We’ll be bringing you all the latest market updates and analysis.
Here’s a few of our top headlines this morning
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Oil price falls but Trump and Iran clash on negotiations claim
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