Brent around $104 as oil prices remain 40% up from pre-conflict levels

With around a fifth of the world's daily oil supply cut off by the Middle East war, fuel prices are still more than 40% higher than they were when the conflict erupted in late February.

Brent crude oil jumped back above $100 a barrel on Tuesday, a day after plunging more than 10 percent in reaction to Donald Trump's decision to delay fresh strikes on Iran as he hailed "very good" talks with Tehran.

Brent rose 2.9 percent to $102.84, while West Texas Intermediate jumped 3.5 percent to $91.20.

The US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28 after saying they had failed to make enough headway in talks aimed at ending Iran's nuclear program, although mediator Oman said significant progress had been made.

Since then, Iran has attacked countries that host US bases, struck Gulf energy infrastructure and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, conduit for a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas, creating the worst energy supply shock in history.

Trading volumes and volatility have exploded. On average, in the three years leading up to the war, some 300,000 lots of Brent crude futures would change hands on a daily basis. That amount has doubled in the last four weeks as daily volumes have hit record highs above 1 million lots, equal to a billion barrels of oil.

For now, the Brent oil price is just below $104 as uncertainty persists over the total hit to the global economy—and even over the status of negotiations, as Iran denied it was engaged in discussions with the US. — Reuters with a report from Agence France-Presse