International oil prices rose on the 19th local time as final talks stalled after the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to end the war. However, on a weekly basis, prices fell by nearly 8% on the impact of the cease-fire MOU.
On the ICE Futures Exchange, August Brent crude futures settled at $80.57 a barrel, up 0.9% from the previous day. Still, despite the rebound, Brent futures remain down 8% from a week earlier. The decline reflects growing expectations that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz will return to normal after the U.S.-Iran MOU.
Experts expect more than 85 million barrels of crude oil tied up in the Middle East to flow into the international market. The U.S.-Iran agreement includes partial easing of U.S. sanctions on Iranian crude during follow-up talks.
Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group, said, "Oil prices have not yet returned to prewar levels, but they appear to be heading in that direction," and added, "We expect additional crude supply to come in over the next few days." He continued, "Ship traffic backlogs could clear faster than expected."