05:41 AM EDT, 05/25/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Crude oil prices dropped on Monday to two-week lows as the market expects the U.S. and Iran are nearing an agreement to end the war.

Brent crude at last look lost 4.8% to US$98.53/barrel and West Texas Intermediate crude fell 5% to $91.78/barrel. U.S. President Donald Trump over the weekend said the two parties had "largely negotiated" an understanding on a peace deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters said in a Monday report.

However, both sides played down hopes that a deal will be reached soon, the report said. Additionally, any normalization in oil flows through the strait will take months, according to analysts.

"We've been at this stage before, only for talks to break down. Therefore, the market will likely be more cautious about overreacting," Reuters quoted Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy at ING, as saying.

"We continue to believe that the key factors for the oil market to watch should be the physical oil flows and so far, flows through the Strait remain restricted," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo was quoted as saying.