Oil prices pulled back and stocks inched higher on Tuesday as investors looked to the possibility of a second round of peace talks between the United States and Iran.
With the two-week cease-fire set to expire this week, the two countries appeared to be preparing to take part in another round of peace negotiations in Pakistan, even as tensions in the Strait of Hormuz escalated in the last few days.
Oil prices pull back.
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The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, was about $95 a barrel, down about 1 percent on Tuesday.
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West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, was around $87 a barrel, down roughly a dollar from the previous day.
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Investors and analysts are focused on the continued disruption to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that is a vital trading route for oil and natural gas that normally carries as much as one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.
Stocks get a lift.
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Futures on the S&P 500 pointed to a modest increase when trading resumes in the United States on Tuesday.
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Stocks in Asia, where countries import vast quantities of oil and gas, were mostly higher. South Korea’s benchmark Kospi and Taiwan’s Taiex index rose about 2 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed more than 1 percent. Stock markets in Hong Kong and mainland China ticked up slightly.
In Europe, stocks were subdued. The Stoxx 600, a broad index that tracks the region’s largest companies, inched up 0.5 percent when trading began. The FTSE 100 in Britain and the DAX in Germany gained less that half a percent.
Gasoline prices slide.
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Gas prices fell on Tuesday to a national average of $4.02 a gallon, according to the AAA motor club. That is down from a recent high of $4.17 earlier in April. Still, drivers are paying about 35 percent more for gas than they were when the war began.
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Diesel prices also stood at $5.51 on Monday, up 47 percent since the start of the war.
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Gas prices don’t move in lock step with crude, usually trailing increases or drops by a few days.
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