Oil prices climb as Iran reviews U.S. proposal to end war in Oil & Companies News 26/03/2026 Oil prices jumped on Thursday amid conflicting remarks around de-escalation in the Middle East, while Iran reviewed a U.S. proposal to end the war. As of 05:33 ET (09:33 GMT), the futures contract expiring in May for Brent crude, the global benchmark, had risen 4.0% to $106.34 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures also climbed 3.7% to $93.66 per barrel. Markets weighed tentative diplomatic signals from Tehran, where officials are reportedly reviewing a U.S.-backed proposal aimed at halting hostilities. Iran has publicly denied direct negotiations with Washington and indicated that key differences persist. The lack of clarity has kept traders on edge. Prices have been highly volatile in recent weeks as the conflict disrupted energy flows from the Persian Gulf, a region critical to global crude supply. Brent crude surged to nearly $120 a barrel earlier this month on fears of supply outages. The Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit route for roughly a fifth of global oil shipments, has been effectively closed to tanker traffic due to the threat of Iranian attacks on vessels. On Wednesday, oil prices fell after reports on the prospects for negotiations between the U.S. and Iran to end the nearly month-old conflict. Investors were also eyeing conflicting signals from Washington, where officials have warned of stronger measures if Iran does not engage constructively, but President Donald Trump reportedly told aides he would like to see a quick resolution to the war. Crucially, crude prices remain well above levels before the outbreak of the fighting in late February, igniting fears over a surge in inflationary pressures around the world that could force central banks to once again consider interest rate hikes. “A more prolonged disruption to energy supplies would deliver a much larger hit to global activity similar” to that seen after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and “prompt a broader monetary tightening cycle,” analysts at Capital Economics said in a note to clients. Source: Investing.com 2026-03-26 hellenicshippingnews... window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); tweet Share