Brent Crude Tops $103 as Trump Rejects Iran Peace Counteroffer
CNBC reported Monday that the Brent crude price surged past $103 a barrel after President Donald Trump declared Iran’s peace counteroffer “totally unacceptable.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reinforced the bearish supply outlook by stating the conflict with Iran was far from finished.
Oil Markets React to Diplomatic Breakdown
International benchmark Brent futures climbed roughly 2.5% to approximately $103.80 per barrel in early Monday trading. U.S. West Texas Intermediate for June delivery rose around 2% to $97.40. Both benchmarks have now gained close to 40% since U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran commenced in late February.
Trump posted publicly that he had reviewed Tehran’s response to ceasefire conditions and rejected it outright. The breakdown in diplomatic progress immediately rattled energy traders already tracking a constrained supply picture.
Why the Strait of Hormuz Remains the Central Risk
Netanyahu, speaking to CBS ahead of a Sunday evening broadcast, outlined several unresolved issues. These included Iranian uranium stockpiles, active enrichment facilities, regional proxy networks and ballistic missile programs. He suggested physical removal of nuclear material remained on the table.
Analysts at Citi noted in a fresh oil market report that crude prices are being partially cushioned by elevated inventories, releases from strategic petroleum reserves and pockets of softening demand in developing economies. The bank nonetheless maintained that risks to the Brent crude price remain tilted higher. Citi’s base case projects a deal to reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz around the end of May. But analysts flagged meaningful risk that timeline could slip, or that any reopening might be partial, prolonging supply disruption.
A Pandemic-Scale Supply Shock
Felipe Elink Schuurman, CEO and co-founder of Sparta Commodities, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” that the current supply shock is comparable in scale to pandemic-era demand destruction. He estimated the market is absorbing roughly nine million barrels per day of lost supply, similar to the demand collapse seen in 2020.
Schuurman argued that wealthier nations will absorb higher prices through elevated refined product costs. Poorer economies, he warned, face a more severe humanitarian strain. He projected Europe would contend with an economic crisis while the United States faces growing political pressure over fuel costs at home.
The comments underscore how a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant share of global crude exports flows, could reshape energy markets far beyond the immediate conflict zone.
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