Oil prices are hovering above USD 90 a barrel, as talks between Iran and the United States remain at an impasse, writes CNN.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, gained 1.3% to trade at USD 92.20 a barrel shortly after 5 a.m. ET. WTI, the US benchmark, rose by a similar margin to trade at USD 85.24 a barrel.

Brent is now trading at its highest level in almost a month, as traders price in a prolonged disruption to oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Tuesday that Hormuz would remain shut until the US meets conditions of the Memorandum of Understanding agreed in June, which include lifting the blockade of Iranian ports, removing oil sanctions, and unfreezing Iranian assets.

US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, said no talks were underway or scheduled with Tehran.

Those comments “led to growing pessimism that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen anytime soon, and we saw oil prices move up throughout the futures curve”, Deutsche Bank analysts wrote in a note Wednesday. Brent futures contracts for deliveries a year from now hit a two-month high, they added.