International oil prices rose on the 19th local time as final talks struggled after the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). On a weekly basis, however, prices fell by nearly 8% on the back of the earlier MOU's impact.
On the ICE Futures Exchange, August delivery Brent crude futures settled at $80.57 a barrel, up 0.9% from the previous day. Even with the rebound, Brent futures remain down 8% from a week earlier. Expectations have grown that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz will normalize following the U.S.-Iran MOU.
Experts expect more than 85 million barrels of crude that had been stuck in the Gulf region to flow into the international market. The U.S.-Iran agreement includes a partial easing of U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil during the follow-up consultation period.
Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group, said, "Oil prices have not yet recovered to pre-war levels, but they appear to be moving in that direction," and added, "We expect additional crude supply to come in over the next few days."
He added, "The ship traffic backlog could clear faster than expected," he said.