Brent, WTI Fall as Crude Oil Market Pressures Ease
Brent, U.S West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell in the global commodity market on Thursday as supply risks fade due to U.S -Iran ongoing diplomatic talks.
Prices edged lower as confirmation of upcoming US-Iran talks helped calm geopolitical nerves, though losses were capped by a sharper-than-expected draw in US crude inventories linked to extreme winter weather.
Brent crude traded at $67.75 per barrel, down 0.9% from the previous close of $68.35. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined 0.8% to $63.50 per barrel, compared with $64.03 in the prior session.
Markets took cues from news that negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program are set to take place Friday in Muscat, Oman’s capital.
The US confirmation that the talks will proceed Friday comes after uncertainty mounted that they would proceed amid pushback from Tehran. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the talks would take place in Muscat at around 10 a.m. local time.
The US news outlet Axios said earlier that Washington told Tehran it will not agree to demands to change the location or format of the talks scheduled for Friday.
“We told them it is this or nothing, and they said, ‘Ok, then nothing,'” the news outlet quoted a US official speaking on condition of anonymity.
Despite the diplomatic easing, prices found support from supply-side factors in the US.
US commercial crude inventories fell by about 3.5 million barrels in the week ending Jan. 30, according to data released late Wednesday by the Energy Information Administration, defying expectations for a roughly 700,000-barrel build.
Stocks declined to 420.3 million barrels as extreme cold weather disrupted production in parts of the country. Strategic petroleum reserves rose by 200,000 barrels to 415.2 million barrels, while gasoline inventories increased by about 700,000 barrels to 257.9 million barrels, the data showed.
