[MARKET ANALYSIS] Crude continues to dip as the US-Iran pause hits day 3, whilst Oman sent Iran a Hormuz proposal

In geopolitics, the US and Iranian pause in strikes has hit day three, with US President Trump yesterday suggesting that Iran does want to make a deal and that very friendly talks are ongoing. Adding to the constructive mood are reports that Oman is said to have presented to Iran a proposal for a joint regional mechanism to manage the Strait of Hormuz with "voluntary fees". In terms of the details, Oman has proposed creating a regional group made up of Iran and the Gulf states to manage ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and help provide security for vessels passing through. Instead of charging an official toll, ships would pay a voluntary service fee that would be used for environmental protection. The proposal also suggests dividing ship traffic into three routes: one through Iranian waters, one through international waters, and one through Omani waters. On this note, sources told Al Jazeera that Iran is demonstrating 'flexibility' over Hormuz Strait operations, although no official commentary has been seen from Iran since.  WTI and Brent futures have been trending lower throughout the European morning on the back of further efforts to end the US-Iran war, with Brent Oct’26 towards the bottom end of a USD 83.58-85.60/bbl range at the time of writing. WTI Sep’26 resides toward the lower end of a USD 80.36-82.43/bbl range. Dutch TTF is also subdued this morning to the tune of almost 2% at the time of writing, with the contract finding early support around the EUR 56/MWh mark. Metals are subdued across the board despite lower oil prices. Precious metals could be cautious amid some fears of a more hawkish FOMC tomorrow, whilst the constructive updates in US-Iran geopolitics could be unwinding some of the geopolitical risk premium. Spot gold resides in a narrow 4,034-4,081/oz range at the time of writing, within Friday’s USD 4,022-4,082/oz band. Base Metals are also on a softer footing, albeit to a lesser extent, with the mood dampened by the bloodbath seen across APAC tech overnight, although losses somewhat contained given the constructive geopolitics. 3M LME copper resides in a USD 13,620.00-13,739.83/t range at the time of writing.