Brent Crude Settles at $79.26 on August 5, Down 0.13%, as Hormuz Deal Optimism Weighs on Prices Despite Supply Concerns

Brent crude oil fell to 79.26 dollars per barrel on August 5, 2026, down 0.13 percent from the previous day, as investors grew increasingly optimistic that a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could soon be reached. Over the past month, Brent's price has risen 10.10 percent, and is up 18.49 percent compared to the same time last year, according to trading on a contract for difference that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Brent crude oil fluctuated below 80 dollars per barrel on Wednesday, after losses of around 5 percent in each of the previous two sessions, as investors grew increasingly optimistic that a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could soon be reached. According to Axios, the U.S., Iran and Oman are close to a 60-day interim agreement to reopen the waterway without tolls, with Washington aiming to announce the deal as early as Wednesday. U.S. President Donald Trump also struck an optimistic tone, saying negotiations with Tehran were moving along very nicely and that more would be known within 48 hours. Fortune reported that as of early morning on August 4, oil was trading at 89.81 dollars per barrel, 2.43 dollars above the previous morning's level, suggesting substantial intraday volatility. The price movement reflects a broader recalibration of risk premiums that had surged during the Strait of Hormuz crisis, which began when Iran blocked the critical waterway in late February 2026 following the assassination of its supreme leader. Crude prices rose Wednesday after Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militants claimed they had struck a Saudi Arabian tanker in the Red Sea, with Brent crude up 1 percent at 80.22 dollars per barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures trading 0.46 percent higher to 76.12 dollars per barrel. WTI's all-time high was on July 3, 2008, trading at 145.29 dollars per barrel, while Brent crude reached its 52-week intraday high of 120.88 dollars on April 30, 2026, during the height of the Iran conflict.