Oil is trading sharply lower this Monday morning.

At 8:30 am (Brasilia time) this Monday (20), the September contract of WTI crude oil recorded a sharp drop of 1.95% in New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), quoted at US$ 80.71/barrel. The contract expiring in the same month as Brent It fell 1.68% in Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), trading at US$ 86.62/barrel. 

In the last trading session (17), WTI advanced 4.47%, to US$ 81.78/barrel, while Brent closed up 4.59%, at US$ 88.10/barrel. For the week, the contracts accumulated gains of 3.58% and 4.59%, respectively. 

In this trading session, fuel prices were under pressure after the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that peace negotiations with the United States could be conducted "based on national interests."

Intermediaries have been in talks with the Persian country in recent days, according to Iranian Minister Esmaeil Baghaei, but the topic of the talks was not described. 

Limiting further losses, the market remains concerned about the flow of energy from the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated that two oil tankers were immobilized after explosions in the region, while attempting to transit through a route considered unsafe south of the channel. 

According to official navigation data, four vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, compared to eight the previous day. 

This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.