00:00All prices laid about 3% on Monday after some vessels sailed through the critical strait of Hormuz,
00:05even as U.S. allies rebuffed President Donald Trump's call for help in unblocking the strait
00:11and as the head of the IEA suggested more reserves could be released to the stem
00:15with the rising costs caused by the Iran war.
00:18Brent futures fell $2.93 or 2.8% to settle at $100.21 a barrel,
00:25while U.S. West Texas Intermediate WTI crude fell $5.00 or 5.3% to settle at $93.50.
00:36Analysts said U.S. prices fell by more than Brent due to several reasons,
00:41including near-record U.S. crude output, bolsas via Venezuela imports
00:45and the upcoming release of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
00:50In addition, some traders were selling the April WTI front month contract
00:54before its coming aspiration on the New York Mercantile Exchange on March 20.
00:59On Friday, Brent closed at its highest since August 2022 at WTI at its highest since July 2022,
01:07putting both benchmarks up almost 40% since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.
01:14Trump repeated his call for nations to help unblock the strait of Hormuz
01:17and complained that other countries were not enthusiastic about providing aid.
01:21European Union foreign ministers currently have no appetite to expand an EU naval mission
01:27in the Middle East to the strait, EU Foreign Policy Chief Kajakalas said on Monday.
01:32The Strait of Hormuz is a critical shipping waterway for a fifth of global oil
01:37and liquefied natural gas LNG supplies.
01:40Iran, which has allowed some Indian vessels to sail through the Strait of Hormuz,
01:44asked India to release three tankers seized in February
01:47as part of talks seeking the safe passage of Indian flag or India-bound vessels through the strait,
01:53three sources the knowledge of the matter, told Reuters.
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