Oil climbs to $104 as Hormuz standoff persists

Oil prices climbed to around $104 per barrel on Monday as the US-Iran conflict showed no signs of resolution, with President Donald Trump rejecting Iran's latest peace proposal as "totally unacceptable" and describing the ceasefire as being on "life support." The continued stalemate dashed investors' hopes for an imminent deal and heightened concerns over further disruptions to oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, which has remained shut since the conflict began, keeping tankers stranded in the Persian Gulf. Despite rising crude prices adding inflationary pressure to the global economy, Wall Street continued its march toward records, with the S&P 500 rising 0.3 percent and the Nasdaq Composite climbing 0.2 to 0.3 percent, driven by stronger-than-expected corporate profits. More than four out of five S&P 500 companies that have reported quarterly results have beaten profit expectations, putting the index on track for nearly 28 percent overall growth. The London market closed mixed as investors weighed both the geopolitical tensions and domestic political uncertainty. The FTSE 100 ended up 0.4 percent at 10,269.43, while the FTSE 250 fell 0.2 percent. Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced growing pressure following disastrous local election results, with a rising number of Labour MPs calling for a leadership transition timetable. Analysts noted that political instability combined with Middle East conflict concerns was creating market jitters. Among London's biggest gainers, Airtel Africa surged 15 percent after its majority shareholder Bharti Airtel announced plans to reorganize subsidiary shareholdings, while British Airways owner IAG rose 6.4 percent following a bond buyback announcement. JPMorgan analyst Natasha Kaneva forecast that oil prices could remain slightly above $100 per barrel for most of the rest of 2026, averaging $97 for the full year, even assuming the Strait of Hormuz reopens on June 1. She noted that seasonal summer demand combined with exceptionally large commercial stock draws seen in recent months should push OECD inventories toward operational stress levels by August, keeping crude prices elevated in the low $100s rather than allowing a sharp decline once the strategic waterway reopens. The 10-year US Treasury yield widened to 4.39 percent from 4.37 percent on Friday, while the pound firmed against both the dollar and the euro.