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EMEA Oil Update: Brent Steadies Near $83 Amid Hormuz Diplomacy

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Brent crude futures were steady on Monday as markets weighed ongoing diplomatic efforts over the Strait of Hormuz and a US sanctions bill targeting Russia and Iran.

Brent futures edged down 0.1% to $83.47 per barrel, while Murban closed at $80.25/bbl on August 7 and was not trading by the time of publication of this oil price update.

The week commenced with a relatively calmer geopolitical backdrop in the Middle East, though without an immediate resolution or fundamental change to regional tensions, analysts said.

"Oil trades near unchanged, with traders showing limited appetite for another push higher as Iran and Oman remain short of a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while Houthi militants claimed an attack on a Saudi refinery near the Red Sea," Saxo Bank analysts said.

"The risk of renewed Middle East escalation remains elevated, but the muted price response highlights competing headwinds from weak Chinese demand and the release of emergency reserves," they added.

While diplomatic channels between Washington and Tehran persist via intermediaries alongside parallel talks between Iran and Oman regarding navigation rights, Tehran reportedly continues to link any broader reopening of the chokepoint to broader US concessions.

Furthermore, Iran maintains a firm stance, warning that renewed US military action could place energy infrastructure across the Gulf and potentially the Red Sea at risk, helping support risk premiums even as direct military confrontation fears have eased.

Meanwhile, commercial vessel traffic through two of the Middle East's key energy chokepoints showed divergent trends on Thursday, with traffic through the Strait of Hormuz falling while shipments in Bab el-Mandeb increased.

The latest data from MarineTraffic for Thursday showed eight confirmed vessel crossings through the Hormuz, down 33% from 12 vessels the previous day and 15 on Tuesday.

On the legislative front, the US Senate on Friday approved legislation to impose sweeping new sanctions on Russia, advancing a long-delayed bipartisan effort to intensify economic pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, according to multiple media reports.

The bill, renamed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, passed the Senate and now heads to the House of Representatives, where lawmakers could consider it as early as next month.

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