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US Oil Update: Brent Surges on US Strikes While WTI Sinks

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Global energy markets noted a divergence between the major crude benchmarks on Tuesday, driven by a sudden return of geopolitical risk in the Middle East that erased a brief diplomatic sell-off.

Brent crude futures gained over 3% to $99.10 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate oil futures fell 3.9% to $92.86/bbl.

ING analysts said that the market is likely to adopt caution "about overreacting to these headlines. There also appears to have been some tempering of optimism."

Brent futures fell to their lowest in over a month on Monday after US President Donald Trump and other officials said there had been some progress towards a basic peace deal with Iran.

Analysts said the reversal in Brent was triggered by US military intervention in the Persian Gulf.

US Central Command forces launched targeted tactical strikes against active shore-based missile launch sites in Southern Iran.

Concurrently, US naval assets intercepted several Iranian fast-attack boats allegedly attempting to plant naval mines across critical shipping lanes.

While official rhetoric continues to insist publicly that behind-the-scenes peace negotiations mediated in Qatar remain active, the engagements have injected deep structural skepticism across international trading desks, experts noted.

Compounding the geopolitical friction, Israeli forces simultaneously intensified cross-border offensives against Iran-backed Hezbollah units in Lebanon.

This multi-front escalation has heavily complicated the supply outlook for the Strait of Hormuz, a maritime chokepoint responsible for a fifth of global daily oil flows.

Analysts at Saxo Bank emphasized that even if diplomats in Doha successfully ink a formal peace treaty, a commercial recovery for the region's damaged energy infrastructure will be a prolonged process.

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