Oil Prices Slip Below $100 as Hormuz Shipping Rises and Diplomacy Dampens Rally

Oil prices dropped under the $100 mark, setting up the longest series of daily declines since June. Brent lost up to 4.8%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate fell more than 6% to around $95 a barrel. Satellite images showed a surge in Saudi oil loading activity inside the Persian Gulf over the weekend, with the highest number of vessels at its main Gulf port since June, indicating the kingdom is routing more cargo through the Strait of Hormuz after a key cross‑country pipeline to the Red Sea was halted following recent drone attacks. U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox News he might meet Iran’s foreign minister Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, and he will also hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and possibly Gulf leaders. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it is ready for a prolonged conflict, according to state media. Pakistan’s interior minister met his Iranian counterpart in Tehran to push the regional peace process, the Iranian Students' News Agency reported. The war that began in late February after a U.S.–Israel strike on Iranian sites has shaken energy markets, while the Russia‑Ukraine war adds further strain. Crude has risen more than 65% this year. Diesel prices in the United States topped $6.50 a gallon, though diesel futures fell over 4% and gasoline futures slipped about 2% on Monday. U.S. Central Command’s admiral said crude and liquefied natural gas shipments through Hormuz have hit a six‑month high, with roughly 32 ships a day crossing the strait from Sept 17‑19 under U.S. escort, according to UK Maritime Trade Operations. Analyst Arne Lohmann Rasmussen noted that attention is now on keeping oil and LNG flows steady and on diplomatic moves at the UN, easing the worst pressure on crude. Despite the easing, supply risks linger. Saudi Arabia issued its first air‑raid alerts for Riyadh since the peak of the U.S.–Iran confrontation, and warned Red Sea ports like Yanbu of possible attacks, as Houthi forces in Yemen continue to threaten shipping. Libya’s biggest oil field cut output by more than half after a pipeline shutdown, with the cause still unclear.