Oil prices are climbing again on Monday, continuing a rally that has seen crude gain almost 50% over the past year.

And there’s little sign of things slowing down just yet.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude is currently up 1.15% to US$93.47 per barrel.

Meanwhile, Brent crude has climbed 1.68% to US$106.07, bringing the US$110 mark back into focus.

And after another eventful weekend in the Middle East, there could be more volatility ahead.

Let’s take a closer look.

Trump rejects Iran peace proposal

The latest increase comes after US President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s proposal to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

According to Reuters, Tehran offered to reopen the strategic waterway within 7 days in exchange for sanctions relief and a ceasefire.

However, Trump refused to accept the terms over the weekend, although negotiations are expected to resume this week.

The situation has been complicated by further attacks across the region.

Saudi Arabia has faced additional missile and drone attacks from Yemen’s Houthi forces, threatening the security of its energy infrastructure.

This has added to concerns about further supply disruptions, helping push oil prices higher.

Russia’s oil infrastructure takes another hit

The conflict in Ukraine is creating further problems, with another Russian refinery forced to suspend operations.

Last Friday, a Ukrainian drone attack damaged Russia’s Novoshakhtinsk refinery in the Rostov region.

The refinery has the capacity to process approximately 110,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

The attack follows several strikes on Russian refining facilities, including sites near Moscow and Yaroslavl.

Russia has also been restricting diesel exports as it attempts to rebuild domestic fuel reserves ahead of cold winter.

Trump has reportedly urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to halt further strikes on Russian oil facilities.

Where could oil prices go next?

Saudi Arabia’s efforts to restore its East-West pipeline could play an important role in where oil prices head next.

The pipeline restarted last week following a drone attack, but it’s still operating below full capacity.

And it could take another 6 to 8 weeks before it returns to its full capacity of 7 million barrels per day.

The pipeline allows Saudi Arabia to transport crude to the Red Sea, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.

But with operations still limited, the country could struggle to make up for the oil lost through Hormuz.

I’ll be closely watching whether Brent pushes past US$110 this week, especially if the pipeline’s recovery takes longer than expected.

The post Oil prices surge as Trump rejects Iran peace deal. What’s next? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Finding a cheap ASX share is not simply a matter of looking for the biggest decline.

For me, the best opportunities are when the valuation looks modest compared with what a business could earn over the next few years.

Here are three ASX shares I think fit that description today.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP)

Zip is probably the most obvious value opportunity of the three.

The buy now, pay later company’s shares have fallen heavily and were recently trading around $1.99, well below their 52-week high of $4.94.

What I think makes that decline interesting is the earnings outlook.

Consensus forecasts point to earnings per share (EPS) of 15 cents in FY27, rising to 18 cents in FY28 and 22.4 cents in FY29.

At $1.99, that puts Zip shares on a PE ratio of roughly 13.3 times forecast FY27 earnings. If the company reaches the FY29 estimate, the multiple falls to just under 9 times.

That looks inexpensive for a business expected to grow earnings meaningfully over the same period.

Zip still needs to deliver on those forecasts, and I would expect plenty of volatility along the way. But I think the current valuation leaves enough upside to make the shares worth buying.

CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL)

CSL shares have already staged an impressive recovery. The healthcare giant is now trading around $177.67, almost double its 52-week low of $90.

While this means it isn’t as cheap as it was, I still see a lot of value in this ASX share.

Consensus forecasts point to EPS of $8.98 in FY27, rising to $9.47 in FY28 and $10.07 in FY29.

At today’s price, that puts CSL on a forward PE ratio of around 20 times FY27 earnings, falling to less than 18 times FY29 earnings if those forecasts are achieved.

For a global healthcare business with strong positions in plasma therapies, vaccines, and specialised medicines, I think that valuation still looks attractive.

The sharp rebound from the lows means some of the recovery has already been recognised by the market. But with earnings expected to keep growing, I still think CSL offers enough value at current levels to remain on my buy list.

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

Goodman is my third pick. The shares were recently trading around $26.49, down from a 52-week high of $34.78.

What I like here is that the share price decline has happened despite its earnings growth outlook remaining positive.

Goodman generated EPS of 129.9 cents in FY26. Consensus forecasts point to 142 cents in FY27 and 151 cents in FY28.

That leaves the shares trading on around 18.6 times forecast FY27 earnings.

I think that looks reasonable given Goodman’s growth opportunities, particularly its increasing exposure to data centres.

The enormous investment being made in AI and cloud infrastructure is creating demand for sites with access to land, power, and major population centres. Goodman has positioned itself to participate in that development pipeline.

Foolish takeaway

Cheap can mean different things in the share market, and I think that is what makes these three ASX shares worth another look.

None of them needs everything to go perfectly for today’s prices to make sense to me. If earnings broadly move in the direction analysts expect, I think there is still room for patient investors to do well.

The post 3 cheap ASX shares I would buy now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Grace Alvino has positions in CSL. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended CSL and Goodman Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended CSL and Goodman Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

New Hope Corporation Ltd (ASX: NHC) shares have delivered investors some seriously outsized returns over the past year.

How seriously?

Well, in late morning trade on Monday, shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) coal stock are trading for $5.68 apiece. This sees the share price up 41.7% since this time last year, smashing the 2% 12-month losses posted by the ASX 200.

And that’s not including the two fully-franked New Hope dividends, totalling 40 cents per share, that the coal miner paid out (or shortly will pay out) over this period. If we add those back in, then the accumulated value of New Hope shares has surged 51.6% in a year.

New Hope stock traded ex-dividend on 21 September. If you held shares at market close on 21 September, you can expect the final fully-franked 30-cent-per-share dividend to land in your bank account on 15 October.

At current prices, New Hope stock trades on a fully-franked trailing dividend yield of 7%. That equates to a grossed-up yield of 10.1%, once we account for those franking credits.

Atop its own operational successes on and below the ground, New Hope has been benefiting from resurgent global coal prices.

At US$144 per tonne, thermal coal (primarily used for energy production) prices are up approximately 35% in 12 months. And thermal coal prices have lifted more than 21% since the end of February, amid the worldwide energy crunch following the outbreak of the Iran war.

But following on this strong run, is the ASX 200 coal stock now a buy, hold, or sell?

New Hope shares: Buy, hold, or sell?

Fairmont Equities’ Michael Gable recently ran his slide rule over the ASX 200 coal miner (courtesy of The Bull).

“I remain bullish about this thermal coal producer, as the war in Iran is leading other countries to lift demand for thermal coal to offset instability in gas markets,” Gable noted.

Commenting on the miner’s recent performance and passive income appeal, Gable said:

The company generated saleable coal production of 11.5 million tonnes in full year 2026, up 7.6 per cent on the prior corresponding period. Production was above market expectations as was the final, fully franked dividend of 30 cents a share.

Along with lifting production, New Hope also increased its total coal resources over the year, which grew to 2.96 billion tonnes as at 31 May, up from 2.55 billion tonnes year on year.

Summarising his hold recommendation on New Hope shares, Gable concluded, “The share price uptrend since early July is sustainable, in my view.”

The post Up 42% and paying a 7% dividend yield, should I buy New Hope shares today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.