Oil prices are holding steady amid market caution over whether talks between Iran and Oman will restore flows through the Strait of Hormuz, while reports of attacks on Saudi tankers in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden renew supply tensions, Reuters reports.
Brent crude futures have gained 9 cents, or 0.11 per cent, to $79.54 a barrel by 09:28 GMT (2:28pm PKT). US West Texas Intermediate futures added 5 cents, or 0.07pc, to $75.27 a barrel.
“Traders still remember the short-lived Memorandum of Understanding signed in June, so there is understandable anxiety that any new deal could prove equally fragile,” says Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.