(Web Desk) - Oil futures rose 1.2% on Sunday after Tehran said it was not engaging in negotiations with the United States and submitted a list of demands for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose about 1.2% to $84.58 a barrel, and US crude rose about 1.1% to $79.28 a barrel.
On Sunday, President Donald Trump said the US is “low-keying” negotiations with Iran.
Tehran is demanding the US end its attacks on Iran and its regional allies, end the blockade of Iran’s ports, remove US military forces around Iran, lift US sanctions, unfreeze Iranian assets and compensate for war damages.
Oil tankers have been largely unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz since Iran closed the critical waterway after fighting resumed in July.
The renewed tensions essentially undid the ceasefire agreement signed in June, which included reopening the strait, through which about 20% of the world’s oil flows.
Tehran is in talks with Oman to approve safe passage through the strait but has warned that does not mean reopening the waterway.
Stalled oil flows have been exacerbated by the Iran-backed Houthis effectively blocking the Bab al-Mandeb Strait connecting the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea.
The Houthi rebels also attacked a Saudi oil refinery on the Red Sea coast.
US gas prices have remained higher, as they follow the trend set by oil prices. The national average for a gallon of gas was $4.01 on Sunday, down eight cents from a week ago, but 34.6% higher than before the war began.
Stock futures, meanwhile, opened flat.