Oil Climbs Amid Renewed Middle East Tensions

By Ronnie Harui

Oil prices climbed early Monday amid renewed tensions in the Middle East that could keep supply disruptions in the region elevated.

Equity markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed, while gold and silver declined amid renewed inflation concerns.

President Trump said Sunday that Iran had violated its cease-fire agreement with the U.S. and threatened in a social-media post to "knock out every single Power Plant and every single Bridge, in Iran" if Tehran doesn't make a deal. Trump's threat came even as he said that Vice President JD Vance, Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner would be heading to Pakistan and would arrive Monday evening in Islamabad for a new round of peace talks with Iran.

Meanwhile, Iran's parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tehran has no trust in the U.S., and its armed forces remain on full combat readiness as fighting may restart at any moment. Despite being involved in active negotiations with the U.S. to reach a permanent cease-fire, Iran is fully prepared to respond "at any moment if the enemy makes a mistake," he said.

In a move that could escalate tensions further, the U.S. Central Command said that it had fired upon, boarded, and seized an Iranian-flagged vessel on Sunday that was traveling toward the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas when it was intercepted.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures climbed 7.5% to $90.15 per barrel, and front-month Brent crude oil futures rose 6.2% to $95.98 a barrel, ICE data showed.

"For markets, the weekend's developments highlight that the path to the end of hostilities and a sustained ceasefire in the Middle East may not be straightforward," said Sally Auld, group chief economist at National Australia Bank, in commentary. "The Iran-U.S. two-week ceasefire is set to expire later this week, so markets will be watching eagerly for signs of an extension," she added.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was up 0.8% in early trade and South Korea's Kospi added 0.6% while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 benchmark index was down 0.4%. U.S. stock futures were lower, with eMini S&P 500 futures falling 0.7%, eMini Dow futures shedding 0.9%, and eMini Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.7%.

Spot gold was 1.5% lower at $4,764.19 an ounce, and spot silver was down 1.7% at $79.44 an ounce.

Write to Ronnie Harui at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-19-26 2112ET