NEW YORK, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Crude oil futures prices picked up sharply on Sunday evening as tensions built up in the Strait of Hormuz and the second round of U.S.-Iran peace talks lacked progress.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for May delivery reached as high as 91.2 U.S. dollars per barrel at the start of trading for the new week, up 8.76 percent from the settlement on Friday. Meanwhile, Brent crude oil futures for June delivery had a high of 97.5 U.S. dollars per barrel, up from the previous session's settlement of 90.38 dollars per barrel.

Thirty-five outbound vessels reversed course over the past 36 hours after Iran reimposed control over the Strait of Hormuz, a London-based maritime analytics firm said on Sunday.

On Saturday evening, the Navy of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps announced that the Strait of Hormuz had been blocked. This announcement followed the Iranian government's declaration on Friday that the strait would be open to all commercial vessels for the duration of the Lebanon-Israel ceasefire.

Moreover, Iran's official news agency IRNA said on Sunday the country has rejected taking part in the second round of the peace talks with the United States.

The renewed tensions also sent U.S. stock index futures plummeting on Sunday evening, with precious metal futures dropping significantly.

The optimism over resumption of trade flows in the Strait of Hormuz led to an over 11 percent drop of West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for May delivery, and sent the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite Index to new record highs on Friday.

The Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping corridor accounting for around 20 percent of global oil flows, has effectively been closed to oil tanker transit since the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East at the end of February. ■