Oil Price Tops $100 Amid Middle East Tensions

While the White House let it be known that contacts with Iran remain 'fluid' and that any speculation about conversations should not be considered definitive, the price of oil climbed back above $100 per barrel, reflecting traders' distrust of a conflict that has now lasted 25 days and keeps the strategic passage through the Strait of Hormuz in turmoil. Today's political contradiction is one of the central data points of the crisis. In parallel, Qatar clarified that it is not mediating directly, although it supports formal and informal de-escalation efforts. The market, however, decided to look less at words and more at facts. That is why the initial enthusiasm generated by Trump's messages was short-lived, and the barrel quickly returned to a critical zone. The rise in oil is no longer an abstract or financial phenomenon. Donald Trump stated that he had postponed for five days the planned attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure following 'very good' and 'productive' contacts with Tehran. And in the Philippines, the president himself warned that immobilizing aircraft due to a shortage of reactor fuel is a concrete possibility. The backdrop for this tension is increasingly unsettling. Macquarie analysts warned that the global oil market could mitigate the disruption in Hormuz, but only if multiple measures are applied quickly without the usual bureaucratic delays. Japan announced it will begin to use joint crude reserves and activated extraordinary measures to sustain supply, while its government left open the possibility of acting 'on all fronts' against speculative escalation. And the market responds with the most direct language possible: it pays more than $100 per barrel again because it does not, at least for now, believe in a solid truce. In that gap between diplomatic discourse and the reality of energy supplies, a large part of the global economic risk for the coming weeks is at play. This fact does not confirm an open dialogue table, but it does suggest that there is some indirect channel of communication, probably driven by regional actors seeking to prevent the war from escalating into an even larger fire in the Gulf. Iran denies formal negotiations, although it admits messages through intermediaries. The White House insists that contacts exist and that the scenario remains open. Buenos Aires - March 24, 2026 - Total News Agency - TNA - The war in the Middle East showed again this Tuesday that diplomatic gestures are still not enough to calm either the military front or the markets. The explanation is simple: the flow of crude and liquefied natural gas through Hormuz remains severely interrupted, and there is no concrete evidence that the conflict is entering a phase of true relief. It is beginning to translate into emergency decisions in different countries. Even so, other projections already envision much more severe scenarios: if the partial or total blockade of the strait prolongs into April, Brent could climb to $150 per barrel. Chile, for its part, is set to apply strong increases in fuels, with hikes that can reach 60% in diesel. But on the Iranian side, the President of the Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and the Islamic Republic's own diplomacy publicly rejected that there are formal negotiations in progress and described these versions as false or distorted. However, in recent hours, a nuance has emerged that further complicates the picture. That hypothesis, which weeks ago seemed extreme, today no longer sounds absurd in a theater where missiles continue to fall, attacks on infrastructure continue, and neither Washington nor Tehran can offer a clear roadmap for an exit. Thus, the signal this day leaves is forceful. A high-ranking official in Iran's Foreign Ministry told CBS News that Iran received 'points' sent by the United States through mediators and that those proposals are being analyzed. Reuters reported that Brent rose this Tuesday to $101.77 per barrel and WTI advanced to $90.34, after the strong rebound following Monday's fall.