Ice Brent futures were higher in early Asian trading as vessel traffic through the strait of Hormuz remained minimal and the US resumed a naval blockade of Iran.
The Ice front-month September Brent contract was at $85.66/bl at 04:00 GMT, higher by 93¢/bl from its settlement on 14 July, when it ended $1.43/bl higher.
The Nymex front-month August crude contract was at $79.93/bl, up by 59¢/bl from its settlement on 14 July, when it ended $1.20/bl higher.
Vessel traffic through the strait of Hormuz remained at minimal levels over the past day, according to MarineTraffic.
Six vessels crossed the strait with AIS tracking switched on during the 24 hours leading up to Tuesday morning, the same pace as the previous day.
Hostilities in the Mideast Gulf continued on Tuesday, with Iran striking commercial vessels and the US striking Iran.
US forces resumed a naval blockade of Iran at 20:00 GMT on Tuesday and the two countries' military continued to exchange fire across the Middle East region.
The US will prevent the transit of ships to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas and has deployed more than 20 warships in the Middle East region, said the US Central Command (Centcom), which oversees Middle East-based US forces. Centcom added that hundreds of US aircraft are also available to enforce the blockade.
US president Donald Trump said that he has reconsidered his Monday proposal to charge ships a fee for transiting the strait of Hormuz, but he still wants the US to be compensated for military protection in the region.
"I don't think anybody should be able to charge a fee for the strait," Trump said Tuesday during a meeting with Iraqi prime minister Ali al-Zaidi at the White House. "The Gulf states are going to invest a tremendous amount of money into the US, and that was very satisfactory to me. I think it's actually much better."
Trump on Monday said he wanted to charge a 20pc fee on the value of cargoes passing through Hormuz, declaring that the US is "guardian" of the strait.
More than 200 non-Iranian vessels co-ordinated with Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) to transit the strait of Hormuz in the three weeks after Tehran and Washington signed their memorandum of understanding (MoU) last month, the authority said on Tuesday.
The PGSA was formed as part of Tehran's push to tighten control over shipping in and around the critical strait of Hormuz after the start of the US-Israel war with Iran in late February.
Tehran has required vessels seeking to transit the strait to apply in advance for a permit from the PGSA. In many cases, this also involved paying a fee to the authority.
Elsewhere, Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels launched ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia's Abha airport on 13 July, responding to air strikes on Sana'a airport the previous day, according to Houthi-run Al Masirah TV. The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said its air defences responded to the attack and no casualties were reported.
Ice Brent futures were higher in early Asian trading as vessel traffic through the strait of Hormuz remained minimal and the US resumed a naval blockade of Iran.
The Ice front-month September Brent contract was at $85.66/bl at 04:00 GMT, higher by 93¢/bl from its settlement on 14 July, when it ended $1.43/bl higher.
The Nymex front-month August crude contract was at $79.93/bl, up by 59¢/bl from its settlement on 14 July, when it ended $1.20/bl higher.
Vessel traffic through the strait of Hormuz remained at minimal levels over the past day, according to MarineTraffic.
Six vessels crossed the strait with AIS tracking switched on during the 24 hours leading up to Tuesday morning, the same pace as the previous day.
Hostilities in the Mideast Gulf continued on Tuesday, with Iran striking commercial vessels and the US striking Iran.
US forces resumed a naval blockade of Iran at 20:00 GMT on Tuesday and the two countries' military continued to exchange fire across the Middle East region.
The US will prevent the transit of ships to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas and has deployed more than 20 warships in the Middle East region, said the US Central Command (Centcom), which oversees Middle East-based US forces. Centcom added that hundreds of US aircraft are also available to enforce the blockade.
US president Donald Trump said that he has reconsidered his Monday proposal to charge ships a fee for transiting the strait of Hormuz, but he still wants the US to be compensated for military protection in the region.
"I don't think anybody should be able to charge a fee for the strait," Trump said Tuesday during a meeting with Iraqi prime minister Ali al-Zaidi at the White House. "The Gulf states are going to invest a tremendous amount of money into the US, and that was very satisfactory to me. I think it's actually much better."
Trump on Monday said he wanted to charge a 20pc fee on the value of cargoes passing through Hormuz, declaring that the US is "guardian" of the strait.
More than 200 non-Iranian vessels co-ordinated with Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) to transit the strait of Hormuz in the three weeks after Tehran and Washington signed their memorandum of understanding (MoU) last month, the authority said on Tuesday.
The PGSA was formed as part of Tehran's push to tighten control over shipping in and around the critical strait of Hormuz after the start of the US-Israel war with Iran in late February.
Tehran has required vessels seeking to transit the strait to apply in advance for a permit from the PGSA. In many cases, this also involved paying a fee to the authority.
Elsewhere, Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels launched ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia's Abha airport on 13 July, responding to air strikes on Sana'a airport the previous day, according to Houthi-run Al Masirah TV. The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said its air defences responded to the attack and no casualties were reported.
By Rhalain Reyes