October Brent oil futures during morning trading on August 26 were down 2.9%, trading at a low of $86.05 per barrel. Quotes for US WTI crude oil futures fell by 2.8% to $80.08 per barrel. The day before, both oil benchmarks had lost more than 3%.

Tehran announced the resumption of talks regarding shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz amid increased economic pressure from US President Donald Trump. Iran and Oman, which over the past few weeks periodically held talks to arrange traffic through the strait, finally agreed on August 25 to clear this waterway of mines, and also discussed setting up a “joint temporary shipping corridor” through it, Reuters reports. Before the start of the US-Iran war through the Strait of Hormuz, one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed through the strait.

“The commander of Pakistan’s land forces has completed a one-day visit to Iran, and judging from reports in local media, the trip produced valuable results,” reads an ANZ Research analysts’ review cited by The Wall Street Journal. “Iran and Oman discussed the importance of resuming shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” experts note. “The proposed plan involves establishing a temporary joint sea corridor and agreeing to implement a joint project to clear this waterway of mines,” they add.

“Uncertainty about the outlook prompted [investors] to buy [oil] on declines, which limited further downside. In the near term, prices will likely remain within a trading range (won’t move noticeably up or down. — Oninvest),” said Mitsuru Muraishi, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities, whose remarks are cited by Reuters.

“U.S. sanctions against Iran turned out to be less severe than expected,” said AJ Bell markets department head Dan Coatsworth. He said the drop in oil prices helped markets calm down a bit, while government bond yields retreated from recent highs, CNBC reports.ㅤ

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