Oil prices pulled back on Tuesday after a sharp increase a day earlier.
They had surged on Monday as the fragile truce in the Middle East appeared to be in jeopardy. The United Arab Emirates said it had been attacked by Iran, while the U.S. military said Iran had fired at the ships and commercial vessels that the Navy was guiding through the Strait of Hormuz, the vital trading route for oil and gas.
It remained unclear whether the attacks on Monday meant that the cease-fire had collapsed and the war had resumed.
At the same time, the United States was pushing China to help pressure Iran to reopen the strait, through which tankers carry as much as one-fifth of the world’s oil supply. Investors and analysts are focused on the continued disruption to shipping in the strait.
Oil prices retreat.
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The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, dipped 1 percent to around $113 a barrel.
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West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, fell 2 percent to about $104 a barrel.
Stock futures point to a higher open.
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Futures on the S&P 500 pointed to a modest increase when stocks resume trading in the United States on Tuesday.
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Stocks in Asia, where countries import vast quantities of oil and gas, were largely flat. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1 percent. Markets were closed in China, Japan and South Korea for a holiday.
Gasoline prices continue to climb.
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Gas prices rose again on Monday, jumping to a national average of $4.46 a gallon, according to the AAA motor club. The increase has raised the cost for drivers by 50 percent since the war began.
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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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Diesel prices have increased even more quickly and stood at $5.64 on Monday, up 50 percent since the start of the war.
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