Oil Gains as Iran’s Uranium Stance Clouds Hormuz Outlook

Oil gained Monday as traders weighed conflicting reports on Iran’s uranium enrichment, a key sticking point in peace negotiations with the US that could dictate the pace of reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate traded above $101 a barrel Monday after sliding 5.7% in the previous session. Prices pared some gains after Al Jazeera reported no new uranium directive had been issued, citing an unnamed Iranian official. Traders have been on high alert for clues on the status of negotiations between the US and Iran to parse when the strait — subject to a double blockade by Tehran and the US military — might reopen and to gird against a potential return to active fighting. The virtual closure of the waterway, a key global energy shipping route, has caused energy prices to soar. We get reaction from Mike McGlone, Senior Commodity Strategist for Bloomberg Intelligence. (Source: Bloomberg)