You are using an outdated browser For a better experience using this site, please upgrade to a modern web browser. Subscribe Get Daily Email Subscribe --> Contact Us Sign in Home News & Features Compliance Costs Bunker Prices Bunker Intelligence World News Latest Features World Americas EMEA Asia/Pacific Home News & Features World Oil Traders Stay Cool As Iran Hostilities Broaden To Involve Saudi Arabiato Oil Traders Stay Cool As Iran Hostilities Broaden To Involve Saudi Arabiato by Ship & Bunker News Team Monday July 20, 2026 Tweet Follow @shipandbunker Babin says "escalatory rhetoric" is increasingly falling on deaf trading ears: File Image/Pixabay. Oil prices maintained their gains of the previous two sessions – but still lingered in the comparatively sedate high $80s in the case of Brent  – after U.S. president Donald Trump on Monday announced  the tenth day of bombings in Iran , and the Islamic republic responded by firing missiles and drones at Kuwait . Still, trading was relatively subdued despite the Iran-backed Houthi group vowing to block the Red Sea ’s Bab el-Mandeb gateway to Saudi Arabia traffic; although military experts questioned the efficacy of this plan, analysts worried that such a blockade would prevent the kingdom from exporting millions of barrels of crude per day via its cross-country pipeline bypassing the Strait of Hormuz . Oil prices on Monday briefly took a nosedive after mediators proposed  a 10-day ceasefire to revive the U.S./Iran interim peace deal. “ Investors are still treating the conflict as something...they can compartmentalize Stephen Innes, managing partner, SPI Asset Management But the prospect of resuming diplomacy seemed unlikely, especially after it was reported that a tanker was struck on Monday by an unknown projectile while transitioning the Hormuz; this came on the heels of two Greek Dynacom tankers being hit by projectiles while sailing off the coast of Oman . Still, Rebecca Babin , senior ene