HOUSTON: Oil prices pared gains to rise about one per cent on Thursday after Israel said it would start direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible.

Doubts over the durability of a two-week Middle East ceasefire raised concerns about continued restrictions on energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, sending prices up more than 5pc earlier in the session. Those gains were later erased after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had given instructions for Israel to begin peace talks with Lebanon that would also include the disarming of Hezbollah.

Brent crude futures were up 90 cents, or 1pc at $95.65 a barrel at 12:58pm ET (1658 GMT), easing from a high of $99.50 earlier in the session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also pared gains, rising $3 or 3.2pc at $97.39, after hitting a session high of $102.70.

Both benchmarks fell below $100 per barrel in the previous trading session, with WTI recording its biggest decline since April 2020, on optimism that the ceasefire would result in a reopening of the strait.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2026