유가 다시 급등, 미국-이란 협상 교착 상태 보여

Investors parsed reports that President Trump told advisers that he was not satisfied with Iran’s latest proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Oil prices continued to climb on Tuesday, as peace talks between the United States and Iran appeared at an impasse, with negotiators deadlocked over proposals to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to tanker traffic and restrict Iran’s nuclear program.

The price of crude oil has risen steadily over the past week, as talks have stalled during an uneasy cease-fire. Brent crude, the international benchmark, has posted gains in six of the past seven trading sessions: It remains more than 40 percent higher than it was before the first U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.

Stock markets are trading near record highs, however, as corporate earnings have been largely resilient. A batch of financial reports due this week from the largest technology companies, which are spending hundreds of billions of dollars on artificial intelligence systems, will be closely watched.

The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, jumped more than 2 percent, to above $104 a barrel for July delivery. Brent’s price has risen about $10 per barrel over the past week.

West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, also rose more than 2 percent, to around $99 a barrel.

Investors and analysts are focused on the continued disruption to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that is a vital trading route for oil and natural gas that normally carries as much as one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.

Futures on the S&P 500 pointed to a slight decline when stocks resume trading in New York on Tuesday. Investors await a slew of tech earnings and a decision by the Federal Reserve on interest rates this week, which could move markets.

Stocks in Asia, where countries import vast quantities of oil and gas, were mixed. The Kospi index in Korea gained 0.4 percent, but Taiwan’s Sensex index slipped 0.4 percent. The Nikkei 225 in Japan slid 1 percent after the Bank of Japan held interest rates steady, as expected, but some board members argued for a rate increase to deal with inflation risks spurred by the war in Iran.

In Europe, stocks were muted. The Stoxx 600, a broad index that tracks the region’s largest companies, and the DAX in Germany were flat. The FTSE 100 in Britain edged up slightly.

U.S. gasoline prices rose on Tuesday, jumping to a national average of $4.18 a gallon, according to the AAA motor club. The increase has raised the cost for drivers by 40 percent since the war began.

Gas prices don’t move in lock step with crude, usually trailing increases or drops.

Diesel prices have increased even more quickly and stood at $5.46 on Tuesday, up 45 percent since the start of the war.

BP, the British oil giant, reported its latest earnings on Tuesday, comfortably surpassing analysts expectations with a doubling of profit in the first quarter, to more than $3 billion. “The oil trading contribution was exceptional,” the company said in a filing.

Meg O’Neill, who recently took over as chief executive of BP, said in a statement that she joined the group “at a time when our industry is operating in an environment of conflict and complexity, playing a vital role in keeping energy flowing.”