Crude oil prices briefly spiked again after the attack on the tanker, which can carry around 2 million barrels of oil worth more than $200 million at current prices. Kuwait Petroleum Corp, the ship's owner, said the attack happened early on Tuesday, causing a fire and hull damage. Authorities in Dubai later said they had brought the fire under control following a drone attack on the tanker. Leavitt said talks with Iran were progressing, and that what Tehran says publicly differs from what it tells U.S. officials in private. That helped oil prices retreat and lifted stock markets off their lows as investors hoped for some way for hostilities to end swiftly.

Source: The Standard March 31, 2026 11:05 UTC