Oil prices rose on Monday after renewed US-Iran strikes slowed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, with Brent crude up 58 cents, or 0.8%, at $72.57 a barrel at 0207 GMT.
US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 88 cents, or 1.3%, to $70.11 a barrel at the same time. ING analysts said in a Monday note that the market still faced “plenty of risk,” even as traders focused on a possible recovery in oil flows.
Brent fell 10.6% last week, its third weekly decline, after shipments through the strait rose to their highest level since the US-Israeli war on Iran began in late February.
The traffic slowed again after renewed attacks on ships from Thursday, including a Qatar-linked oil tanker.
A US official said Iran and the United States agreed on Sunday to halt recent hostilities in the Gulf and renew talks over the Strait of Hormuz dispute.
ANZ analysts said the market may reassess assumptions of a quick Persian Gulf supply recovery.
Saudi Aramco loadings continued at Ras Tanura after crude operations resumed on Friday following a nearly four-month halt.
Read: Oil Prices Fall as Middle East Supply Rises
ANZ said physical flows remained constrained by tanker backlogs, damaged infrastructure and production shut-ins. The bank said supply may take the rest of the year to approach pre-conflict levels.
