Brent North Sea crude, the benchmark for international oil prices, rose briefly above $90 on Tuesday as hopes of a U.S.-Iran agreement to bring the war to an end continued to diminish.
Brent reached $90.02 a barrel early on Tuesday, a gain of more than 2.5% from Monday, while the main U.S. contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), jumped 2.7% to $84.32 a barrel.
Oil prices extended a strong rally as hopes for a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz fade, raising fresh inflation fears and ramping up bets on at least one U.S. interest rate hike this year.
Crude has surged more than 10% over the past week, with the United States and Iran appearing no closer to a deal on the crucial waterway despite upbeat comments from the White House earlier in the month.
In the latest blow, U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he would seek conflict compensation from Iran as part of any peace negotiations, citing attacks and killings stretching back decades allegedly backed or perpetrated by Tehran.
