Oil prices fell on Wednesday as Saudi Arabia began resuming crude supplies through a key pipeline to the Red Sea, while hopes grew for a diplomatic solution to the US-Iran war through talks being held at the United Nations in New York.
اضافة اعلان
Brent crude futures fell 7 cents, or 0.07%, to $99.18 a barrel by 01:19 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures also declined by 35 cents, or 0.39%, to $90.17 a barrel.
US President Donald Trump warned on Tuesday that he could “annihilate” Iran, while also saying that his envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, had held productive talks with Iranian intermediaries aimed at ending the war.
“I think there’s a lot of momentum toward reaching a deal,” Trump said.
Optimism over improving supplies and efforts to end the conflict, which has continued for nearly seven months, pushed Brent below $100 a barrel at Tuesday’s settlement for the first time since September 8.
“The market is currently viewing the outlook for global oil supplies more positively than it was a few weeks ago,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.
“The meeting between the US and Iranian delegations in New York has given traders a glimmer of hope. Despite continued harsh rhetoric, including threats of annihilation, the market is betting on the possibility of talks,” he added.
Three sources familiar with the matter said Saudi Arabia resumed operations on the East-West pipeline to the Red Sea on Tuesday, amid growing indications of increased oil flows from the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia was forced to shut the pipeline on September 11 following drone attacks that the kingdom blamed on Iraqi armed factions, halting oil-loading operations at the port of Yanbu.
Since the US-Israeli war with Iran disrupted oil flows from Saudi Arabia and neighboring Gulf states through the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia has been using the pipeline to redirect around 4 million barrels per day — roughly 4% of global supplies — to Yanbu.
Iraqi Oil Minister Bassem Mohammed said on Tuesday that the country’s oil exports had increased. He said Iraq is currently exporting more than 3 million barrels per day, with exports through Turkey expected to rise to more than 600,000 barrels per day.
