Reuters
Oil prices rose on Friday as traders grew concerned that this week’s U.S.–Iran talks did not ease fears of a potential military conflict.
Brent crude settled at $68.05 a barrel, up 0.74%, while WTI closed at $63.55, up 0.41%.
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In overnight trading, both benchmarks fell, but during the U.S. session, both Brent and WTI rose more than $1 a barrel before moderating gains toward settlement.
Iran and the U.S. held negotiations via Omani mediation to try to overcome sharp differences over Tehran’s nuclear program.
“We keep going back and forth on this Iran situation,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital. “It’s better one day or even one hour than worse the next. It’s status quo nervousness over Iran.”
Iranian state TV reported in the late afternoon that the talks had ended. Iran’s foreign minister said negotiators will return to their capitals for consultations, and the talks will continue.
Before talks began, a lack of agreement on the meeting’s agenda heightened investor anxiety, as Iran favoured focusing on nuclear issues while the U.S. sought to include missiles and regional armed groups.
Escalating tension could disrupt oil flows, as about a fifth of the world’s consumption passes through the Strait of Hormuz between Oman and Iran.
Most crude from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Iraq, and Iran is exported via the Strait.
If the prospect of conflict in the region eases, oil prices could decline further.
Kazakhstan’s planned oil exports could fall by as much as 35% this month via its main route through Russia, four trading sources have told Reuters, as the giant Tengiz oilfield slowly recovers from fires at power facilities in January.
On a weekly basis, prices were weighed down by a broader market selloff and persistent expectations of an oil oversupply, analysts said.
Saudi Arabia cut the official selling price of its Arab Light crude to Asia for March to around a five-year low on Thursday, marking the fourth straight month of price cuts.
