Oil prices dipped in early Asian trade on Tuesday as hopes of more peace talks between the US and Iran eased concerns about further disruptions to energy supplies, according to the BBC. The price of global benchmark Brent crude fell by about 1% to $98.40 (£72.85) a barrel, while US-traded oil dropped by 1.7% to $97.40.

Trump Signals Potential Agreement with Iran

President Donald Trump said that Tehran has contacted Washington about a potential agreement, according to the BBC — Earlier, oil prices jumped above $100 a barrel following Trump’s order to blockade Iran’s ports after negotiations failed between the two sides at the weekend.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Monday, Trump said: ‘I can tell you we’ve been called by the other side — They’d like to make a deal very badly.’

Separately, the New York Times reported that Iran had proposed suspending uranium enrichment for up to five years, an offer rejected by the US which insisted on 20 years. The report. Which cited Iranian and US officials. Also said Washington and Tehran had traded proposals for suspending Iran’s nuclear activity during talks in Pakistan, but remained far from an agreement.

But it added that the discussions suggested there may still be a path to a peace deal, with a possible second round of face-to-face talks, though the BBC has contacted the White House for comment.

Asian Markets Rise on Oil Price Dip

Asian stock markets edged higher on Tuesday as oil prices eased; the Nikkei 225 index in Japan gained by 2.6% while South Korea’s Kospi exchange jumped by more than 3%.

Countries in Asia that are heavily reliant on energy from the Gulf have been hit hard by the fallout of the Iran war. The Strait of Hormuz has become a key flashpoint of the conflict after Iran retaliated against US-Israeli strikes since 28 February by threatening to attack vessels that try to use it.

Energy prices have surged as nearly a fifth of global oil and gas shipments usually pass through the strait. US Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Monday that he expected oil prices to peak in the coming weeks as the waterway remains effectively closed.

‘We’re going to see energy prices high – and maybe even rising – until we get meaningful ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz,’ Wright told the Semafor World Economy Forum in Washington. ‘That’ll probably hit the peak oil price at that time. That’s probably sometime in the next few weeks.’

Blockade Orders and Diplomatic Tensions

Oil prices had surged by more than 7% back above $100 a barrel on Monday after US President Donald Trump ordered the blockading of Iranian ports following the failure of peace talks between Washington and Tehran. Brent crude. The global benchmark for oil prices. Rose to $102.02 a barrel (£75.91), before falling back to $98 during Monday afternoon trading in the US.

The cost of a barrel of oil had plunged well below $100 last Wednesday after the US and Iran struck a conditional two-week ceasefire deal that included opening the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for global oil and gas supplies. The strait, through which a fifth of the world’s energy shipments pass, has become a flashpoint of the conflict after Iran retaliated against US-Israeli strikes by threatening to attack vessels that try to use the waterway.

Shipments have largely been at a standstill since the US-Israel war with Iran started on 28 February, leading to energy prices surging around the world and pushing up costs for consumers, in particular making petrol and diesel more expensive. However, Iran has continued to export oil.

Windward, the maritime intelligence firm, said that since 1 March more than 58 million barrels of oil have left Kharg Island, Iran’s main outlet for crude exports. It said more than 90% of these have been directed toward China.

On Sunday, Trump announced that ‘effective immediately’, the US Navy ‘will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz’. US Central Command later said it would block all vessels entering and exiting Iranian ports and coastal areas in the Strait from 10:00 EST (15:00 BST) on Monday. It said the blockade would not apply to ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.

On Monday, the Unified Command of Iranian Armed Forces said that US restrictions on vessels in international waters were ‘illegal and constitutes piracy’. It added that Iran would implement a ‘permanent mechanism to control the Strait of Hormuz following US threats’.

China has called for restraint. ‘The Strait of Hormuz is an important international trade route for goods and energy, and maintaining its security, stability and unimpeded flow is in the common interest of the international community,’ a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said.