Oil prices settle more than 1% higher, log strongest month since March

Published Sat, Aug 1, 2026 · 09:58 AM

[NEW YORK] Oil prices closed more than US$1 per barrel higher on Friday (Jul 31), ending July with their biggest monthly gains since March, as concerns over global crude flows mounted on Iranian reports that some tankers were forced to turn back in the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent futures settled up US$1.09, or 1.2 per cent, at US$90.12 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures closed up US$1.08, or 1.3 per cent, at US$84.67 a barrel. For July, Brent gained 24 per cent and WTI rose 21 per cent.

The war in Iran, which began on Feb 28, has sharply curtailed traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital choke-point that previously carried about a fifth of global crude oil and natural gas supplies, disrupting millions of barrels per day of Middle East output.

Iran has largely blocked shipping through the strait since the conflict began, while its Houthi allies in Yemen this month threatened vessels transiting the Bab el-Mandeb strait at the southern end of the Red Sea, jeopardising an alternative export route used by Saudi Arabia and other regional producers.

“The market has stopped trading the war and started trading the shipping data,” said Ole Hvalbye, market analyst at SEB Research. Talks between Iran and Oman on managing the strait continue, according to the Iranian Labour News Agency, despite Teheran’s rejection of Oman’s proposal for joint management of the waterway. REUTERS