By Ronnie Harui

Oil prices were up in Asia on Tuesday morning, amid mixed signals from talks between the U.S. and Iran on ending the conflict.

Vice President JD Vance said Monday that Iran had agreed to allow nuclear inspectors to return to the Middle Eastern country as early as this week. However, Tehran didn't acknowledge the Trump administration's move to give inspectors broader access to its sites.

On the one hand, "Vance described the first round of negotiations as 'very, very good' and said Iran had agreed to allow nuclear inspectors back into the country," said Carol Kong, economist and currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, in a research report. On the other hand, however, Iran later said that Vance's assertion was "false and does not reflect reality," Kong noted.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose 0.5% to $74.21 a barrel and front-month Brent crude oil futures advanced 0.3% to $78.13 a barrel, ICE data showed.

Crude oil prices also strengthened amid worries over the recent surge in oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway through which one-fifth of the world's oil is typically transported.

"There are concerns that the surge may not be sustained," ANZ Research analysts said in a research report. Iran said that any crossing would require mandatory insurance policies, which are currently free but could be charged for down the line," the analysts noted.

Equity markets across Asia were mixed. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average declined 0.5% and South Korea's Kospi fell 2.5%, while Taiwan's benchmark Taiex rose 0.2% and Singapore's FTSE Straits Times Index added 0.4%.

Write to Ronnie Harui at ronnie.harui@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 22, 2026 21:55 ET (01:55 GMT)

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