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Oil Rises as US-Iran Deadlock Continues

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Oil Rises as US-Iran Deadlock Continues

Crude oil prices rose Monday amid lack of progress on US-Iran peace talks.

Brent advanced 1.4% to $110.80 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate futures were last up 1.6% at $107.06. Brent rose 7.9% last week, while WTI climbed about 10%.

Iran has submitted its new proposal to end the war, but the White House believes it fails to offer meaningful improvements on the last offer, Axios reported Monday, citing a senior US official and a source briefed on the issue.

The standoff has renewed fears of a military combat, with President Donald Trump set to convene a meeting of his top national security officials on Tuesday, according to the report.

Iranian state media previously claimed that Washington had agreed to waive some oil sanctions. However, the US official denied such reports, according to Axios.

A fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran appears to be holding, though the two sides are yet to finalize a framework to end the conflict despite a series of talks.

Over the weekend, a drone strike caused a fire near the United Arab Emirates' Barakah nuclear energy plant. The facility can meet a quarter of the Gulf country's electricity needs, Al Jazeera reported Monday.

"Progress on US-Iran peace talks continues to be immaterial, with both parties expressing a willingness to resume overt hostilities if the talks fail," Tudor Pickering Holt Analyst Matt Portillo said in a note.

Last week's talks between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping also failed to improve the prospects of a US-Iran deal.

"There had been hope (possibly misplaced) that China could use its influence over Tehran to break the deadlock between the US and Iran," ING Head of Commodities Strategy Warren Patterson said in a report on Monday. "If anything, re-escalation risks are increasing."

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