Oil prices ticked up slightly through Thursday morning, holding largely steady over the past two days as investors digest a bevy of headlines about potential second-round peace talks.
Future on Brent crude (BZ=F), the international pricing benchmark, gained roughly 0.8% Thursday morning to hold above $95 per barrel, while those on US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude (CL=F) ticked up a slightly slimmer 0.6% to trade above $88 per barrel.
Both products opened the week Sunday evening above $100 per barrel.
Investors’ Middle East focus this week has been squarely on whether second-round negotiations will resume this week. Initial attempts at a peace deal fell apart last weekend in Islamabad, Pakistan, after a marathon 21-hour session between Washington and Tehran representatives.
The US and Iran are reportedly in indirect discussions to extend the two-week ceasefire set to expire on April 22. The US is still “very much engaged in these negotiations,” White House press secretary Karoline Levitt said on Wednesday.
In an interview with the New York Post earlier in the week, Trump said news media “should stay there [in Pakistan], really, because something could be happening over the next two days, and we’re more inclined to go there.” The president then told Fox Business he believes the war is “very close to being over.”
No date has yet been set for a second round of talks, Pakistan’s foreign minister said Thursday morning. The key sticking points of negotiations — Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, control over the Strait of Hormuz, economic sanctions on Tehran, and Israel’s war in Lebanon — all remain in place head of the weekend.
Announcements from Washington and Tehran have sent signals of potential progress on control of the strait and the Israeli campaign.
In a Truth Social post overnight on Wednesday, President Trump said Israel and Lebanon would be speaking on Thursday, writing that he is “trying to get a little breathing room” between the two nations. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, said in a post on X a few hours earlier the US “must commit” to the “completion and consolidation of a comprehensive ceasefire in Lebanon.
Even as Iran has insisted a cessation of Israeli military action in Lebanon must be part of any ceasefire, Israel has continued a widespread air and ground campaign within the country against the terrorist proxy force Hezbollah through the US-Iran ceasefire, set to expire on Tuesday.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine speaks as he displays a map showing the United States Navy’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz during a press briefing at the Pentagon on April 16, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) · Alex Wong via Getty Images
Pakistan, which has been mediating talks between Washington and Tehran, has reportedly said a ceasefire in Lebanon is essential to any US-Iran dealmaking, Reuters reported Thursday.
In the Strait of Hormuz, traffic has continued to hold near zero as the US Navy continues its blockade of ships moving to and from Iranian ports or shores, cutting off the flow of roughly 1.5 million barrels per day of Iranian crude oil that was flowing through the strait.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine said in a media briefing Thursday morning that 13 ships had so far turned around instead of attempting to cross the US blockade.
The navy on Thursday morning expanded its operations to include subjecting to boarding, search, and seizure of any Iranian-linked vessel; any vessel under sanctions from the Office of Foreign Assets Control; and any vessel suspected of carrying contraband including weapons or military electronics.
Iran appears to have roughly 90 million barrels’ worth of available onshore crude oil storage capacity, or enough room to withstand a complete stoppage of exports for roughly two months before it would have to begin shutting in production, according to the energy and chemicals consultancy FGE NextantECA.
Even so, there are signs Tehran is moving toward some form of negotiations. On Wednesday, Iran said it would be willing to allow ships to sail freely and unencumbered through Omanian waters on the eastern side of the strait, provided a firm ceasefire agreement is reached that satisfies Tehran’s demands, according to Reuters.
Throughout the conflict, Iran has made multiple demands over the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical shipping lane for oil and gas, including a tolling scheme and full sovereignty over the waterway, the eastern half of which falls within Omani national waters.
Jake Conley is a breaking news reporter covering US equities for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X at @byjakeconley or email him at jake.conley@yahooinc.com.
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