Oil\u00a0prices barely moved in early trade on Monday as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slowed over the weekend with no peace deal in sight between the United States and Iran to end the conflict in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Abdulmonam Eassa | Getty Images<\/p>\n
Oil\u00a0prices barely moved in early trade on Monday as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slowed over the weekend with no peace deal in sight between the United States and Iran to end the conflict in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Brent crude futures<\/a>\u00a0climbed 20 cents, or 0.2%, to $88.72 by 2350 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures<\/a>\u00a0slipped 5 cents to $82.35 a barrel.<\/p>\n Both contracts gained more than 5% last week following attacks on tankers operated by Abu Dhabi National\u00a0Oil\u00a0Company in the Hormuz strait and on a\u00a0Saudi Aramco refinery.<\/p>\n Over the weekend, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Iran had not decided to resume\u00a0talks with the U.S.\u00a0while U.S. President Donald Trump urged Americans to accept slightly higher\u00a0gasoline prices\u00a0while the conflict continues.<\/p>\n “The status quo remains. Both sides remain firmly dug in and the market is left weighing the risk of tighter supply against the comfort of workarounds and other informal channels,” IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note.<\/p>\n Shipping through the\u00a0Strait of Hormuz\u00a0slowed 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 in the prior weekend.<\/p>\n The United Arab Emirates accused Iran of\u00a0attacking\u00a0a 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.<\/p>\n