08:51 AM EDT, 03/24/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Oil prices rose early on Tuesday, rebounding from a day-prior 10% drop as the U.S.-Israel war on Iran continues even as U.S. President Trump said talks with Iran are underway, a claim Iran denied.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil for May delivery was last seen up US$3.15 to US$91.28 per barrel, while May Brent oil was up US$2.50 to US$102.44.

Traders are continuing to adjust to the largest oil-supply disruption in history as the Iran war halted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint for shipments from the Persian Gulf producers who supplied 20% of daily oil demand. While prices have climbed steadily since the Feb.28 start to the conflict, they closed sharply lower on Monday after Trump backed down from a threat to attack Iran's power plants hours ahead of a deadline, claiming the United States was in talks with Iran.

Iran has denied any negotiations are taking place. However the Wall Street Journal reported Egyptian intelligence officials made contact with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and proposed a five-day halt to the fighting "to build confidence for a cease-fire", citing unnamed officials. The paper said the proposal convinced Trump to postpone his threat to attack Iranian energy assets for the five-day period. There was neither any indication Israeli goals were included in talks as it continues strikes on Tehran or any sense the war is nearing an end.

"All this underscores the essential fact that we are not dealing with single decision-maker dynamics. Unlike the case with tariffs or Greenland, multiple stakeholders have a say in how this war ends, and ships, not soundbites, will likely be what ultimately matters for physical markets," Helima Croft, Head of Global Commodity Strategy and MENA Research at RBC Capital Markets, wrote.

Prices for refined products continue to rise due to supply shock, with gasoline, aviation fuel and diesel prices climbing, hitting consumers and threatening a broader rise in inflation.

"The clearest signal of stress lies in refined products-especially diesel and jet fuel-rather than crude. Crude's relative resilience may come under increasing pressure as the initial buffer of elevated oil-on-water inventories continues to erode, and as pre-war shipments from the Persian Gulf are delivered, leaving a reduced flow of fresh supply after that point," Saxo Bank noted.