Business & Markets
Hormuz deal hopes send oil prices down over 6%
Hopes for a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz sent oil prices down more than 6% on Tuesday, after US officials said an agreement with Iran could be reached soon.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that “there is a chance we may have a deal” in the coming hours. President Donald Trump had said a deal could be close, while also warning Iran from the White House on Monday that it was the country’s “last chance before decapitation”.
Benchmark Brent North Sea crude fell more than 6% to below $79 per barrel as traders reacted to the possibility of increased shipments through the waterway.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was involved in negotiations between Oman and Iran on increasing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. In the earlier talks, he said there had been progress but “not finality yet”.
Iran’s foreign ministry has denied that negotiations with Washington are taking place. Qatar, which has been mediating, said diplomatic efforts were continuing but that no direct Iran-US talks were planned. Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, spoke with Trump by phone on Tuesday, with Doha saying they discussed efforts to de-escalate tensions.
The Strait of Hormuz is a key route for global oil and gas supplies. Iran wants to control the strait and charge tolls, powers it did not exercise before the war, while the United States opposes those demands.
The security situation around the waterway remained fragile. Britain’s maritime security agency UKMTO said an unnamed cargo vessel was struck by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz off Oman early Tuesday. One crew member was listed as missing.
The disruption around Hormuz has increased the importance of Red Sea shipping routes. On Tuesday, the Indian ship MSV Faize Noore Oliya sank in the Red Sea off Yemen after an unattributed attack, with all of its crew rescued.
The Red Sea is a gateway to the Suez Canal. The Houthis in Yemen have declared a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia and have claimed attacks on several ships they say violated it.
Update
Benchmark Brent North Sea crude fell more than 6% to below $79 per barrel, updating the earlier nearly 5% fall to $79.69.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 21:50:24 UTC.
Update
Benchmark Brent North Sea crude fell nearly 5% to $79.69 per barrel on Tuesday amid hopes for increased shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
One crew member was listed missing after a merchant ship was hit by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz off Oman.
Qatar said diplomatic efforts were continuing but no direct Iran-US talks were planned, and said its emir spoke with Donald Trump about de-escalation.
The Indian ship MSV Faize Noore Oliya sank in the Red Sea off Yemen after an unattributed attack, with all crew rescued, according to India’s foreign ministry and a local official in Yemen.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 19:20:33 UTC.
Update
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States is involved in negotiations between Oman and Iran on increasing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Rubio said there had been progress in those talks but no final agreement yet.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 14:50:50 UTC.
Update
Scott Bessent said he expected energy prices to settle back down if a deal over the Strait of Hormuz is reached.
Bessent said hundreds of ships were waiting to go out and that some ships had been coming out despite conditions being “a little dicey”.
An unknown projectile hit a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 12:16:34 UTC.
Update
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz would stabilize energy prices.
Bessent said he thought any deal would involve freedom of movement when asked whether Iran could charge a toll on shipping.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 12:05:43 UTC.
Update
The US Treasury Secretary said there was a chance of a deal with Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz by Wednesday.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 11:56:00 UTC.
Update
Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said Qatar, Pakistan and Oman were working together and coordinating closely with Oman.
Al Ansari said mediators were exchanging ideas and drafts between the United States and Iran.
Al Ansari said Qatar's immediate focus was lowering escalation, reopening the Strait of Hormuz and reopening diplomacy.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 11:26:34 UTC.
Update
Qatar said no direct talks between the United States and Iran were planned.
Qatar said negotiations were focused on a short-term resolution that could help restart broader mediation efforts.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 10:42:52 UTC.
Update
Qatar said efforts were ongoing for an Iran-US resolution.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 10:30:05 UTC.
Update
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei described talks with Oman on the Strait of Hormuz as constructive.
Baqaei said the Oman talks aimed to reach agreement on a new route through the waterway.
Baqaei said the situation in the Strait of Hormuz would remain unchanged while what Iran calls a US naval blockade on Iranian ports continues.
Source note: AFP news report published on 3 August 2026 at 08:58:59 UTC.
Update
Donald Trump said new talks with Iran would begin Monday afternoon and cover the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's denuclearisation.
Iran's foreign ministry said Tehran was negotiating with Oman, not the United States, over passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said he had held off launching new strikes and claimed Iran and US partners had asked him not to strike; Iranian media denied Tehran had made such a request.
Baqaei said Iran and Oman were close to an understanding on a route through Hormuz, but said this would not mean reopening the strait.
UKMTO reported that a tanker off Oman heard a nearby explosion on Sunday, with the ship and crew reported safe.
Iranian lawmaker Hassan Ghashghavi said mediators were trying to revive a June US-Iran memorandum of understanding.
Source note: AFP news report published on 3 August 2026 at 08:49:14 UTC.
Update
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran was negotiating with Oman to secure passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
The statement was made during a weekly press briefing.
Source note: AFP news report published on 3 August 2026 at 07:34:42 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
No agreement on reopening the Strait of Hormuz has been announced.
Iran denies direct negotiations with Washington despite US statements that talks are happening.
The projectile that struck the vessel in the Strait of Hormuz was described as unknown.
Responsibility for the attack before the MSV Faize Noore Oliya sank was not attributed in this item.
Source
AFP news report published on .