Oil Firms, Stock Futures Flat as Hormuz Reopening Doubts Persist

Crude oil prices moved higher at the start of the week as uncertainty persisted over when the Strait of Hormuz would reopen to shipping, with new demands from Iran raising doubts about a quick resolution. U.S. stock-index futures were little changed on Sunday, with investors weighing the Iran situation against key inflation data due later in the week. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has reiterated its position on the terms under which the strait would reopen. President Donald Trump said the United States was "low keying it" with Iran, according to reporting on his latest comments, as the range of options for stepping back from the standoff has narrowed. Separately, Iran replaced a senior security official at a sensitive point in the talks. Mohsen Rezaei was appointed head of the Supreme National Security Council after Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr stepped down, according to the Financial Times. The strait is the transit route for a large share of seaborne crude and liquefied natural gas, and its status has been the dominant driver of energy prices in recent sessions.