Brent rises to $105.25 after limited US strikes in Strait of Hormuz
Key Facts
The United States carried out limited strikes on Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz, the Associated Press reported, citing a US official, in a development that came hours before Tuesday’s US elections. The official said the target was Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against the United States in the strait. The official did not describe the missiles themselves as targets of the strikes. Iranian media reported hearing explosions on Qeshm and Hengam islands, as well as in Bandar Abbas on the mainland. The strikes came as maritime tensions in the strategic passage remained a focus of the confrontation between Washington and Tehran.
The development was reflected in oil prices in early Asian trading on Tuesday, with Brent crude rising 48 cents to $105.25 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate gaining 47 cents to $96.93. The gains followed Brent’s 7.63% decline, or $8.66, to $104.77 a barrel at the close of Monday’s session. A Reuters report via Investing.com linked the price rise to reports of the US strike on Qeshm Island. The sharp drop in the previous session had come amid hopes that talks between Iran and Qatar would lead to an end to the US-Israeli war on Iran. The two sessions’ price moves show the differing effects of confrontation reports and expectations for the negotiating path on crude pricing.
The strikes follow an increase in attacks on commercial shipping in the strait; October saw the highest number of attacks on commercial vessels since March, according to the Associated Press. The agency reported that Iran is seeking to increase economic pressure on the United States through these attacks. Separately, a regional official said any further strikes could prompt Yemen’s Houthis to intensify attacks on Saudi Arabia and on shipping in the Red Sea. The official warned that Iran-backed militias in Iraq could also enter the conflict. The warning puts the potential widening of the confrontation among the risks facing energy and shipping markets in the region.
On the diplomatic front, US Vice President JD Vance said before the strikes were confirmed that President Donald Trump and he were optimistic about the possibility of reaching a negotiated settlement. The Associated Press reported that talks aimed at preventing a resumption of operations were still underway, as allies of Washington in the region pressed the United States not to resume the war. Iran’s head of the National Security Council said the strait would not be reopened until Washington addressed Tehran’s terms. The conditions Iran presented include the lifting of the US naval blockade of its ports, the waiving of sanctions on oil sales, and respect for a ceasefire that includes Lebanon; in return, it offered to reopen the strait and resume talks on its nuclear program. These demands and talks remain a parallel track to the military escalation, while thousands of US troops were still in waters off Iran to maintain the blockade, with another aircraft carrier and thousands of additional troops en route to the Middle East.
The US president had said in recent weeks that he was considering launching a new wave of strikes on Iran after Tuesday’s elections, according to the Associated Press. The regional official warned of possible regional repercussions if the strikes widened, including increased Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and Red Sea shipping and the possible involvement of Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq. On oil data, the US Energy Information Administration’s schedule lists 12 November 2026 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time as the release time for its next weekly report. The report covers data for the week ending 6 November and was scheduled unusually because of the Veterans Day holiday. The report is therefore due days after the strikes, while its release date alone offers no evidence of the developments’ effect on inventories.