Oil prices fell on Thursday as investors hoped the United States and Iran would reach a deal to prevent a renewed war in the Middle East.
usa crude oil The stock fell nearly 2% to close at $96.35 per barrel. international benchmark brent crude oil It fell more than 2% to settle at $102.58.
Prices rose more than 3% in early trading after Reuters reported that Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei ordered the country’s enriched uranium to remain in the Islamic Republic.
Khamenei’s position was seen as potentially complicating talks with the US president, who said the elimination of Iran’s nuclear program was a central goal of the US war effort.
President Trump said earlier this week that he had called off an impending airstrike on Iran to give time for diplomacy at the request of the United States’ Gulf Arab allies. Iran and the United States have made little progress toward a deal since agreeing to a fragile ceasefire last month.
President Trump on Wednesday threatened to resume military action if Iran did not give “100% good answers” in negotiations, but said he was willing to wait several more days to allow for dialogue.
“We’re all ready to go,” President Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, referring to U.S. military operations. “We need to get the right answer. It has to be absolutely 100% a good answer.”
“If you can wait a few days and save a war, if you can wait a few days and save people from getting killed, I think that’s great,” the president said.
Meanwhile, shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz continues to be severely disrupted due to Iran’s blockade of sea lanes, an important trade route for global oil supplies.
The International Energy Agency warned on Thursday that the oil market will reach the “red zone” this summer if the Port of Hormuz does not reopen. IEA Director-General Fatih Birol said global oil reserves will be depleted as demand increases during summer travel.
