- Brent and WTI futures rise in early trading.
- Iran must meet with mediators rather than US officials.
- US crude inventories fell by 6.1 million barrels last week.
Oil prices rose in early trading Wednesday as investors reacted to news that “Iran will not meet with U.S. envoys, straining the interim ceasefire agreed between the two countries during the four-month-long war.”
Brent futures rose 50 cents, or 0.69%, to $73.45 a barrel by 1208 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 63 cents, or 0.91%, to $70.13 a barrel.
US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Doha on Tuesday for what the White House called “high-level” talks, but Iran and Qatar said they would meet with mediators, rather than the Iranians themselves.
Qatar said Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani was among those of Witkoff and Kushner.
Brent crude fell about $45 a barrel between the first and second quarters of this year, its biggest quarterly loss since 2008 during the financial crisis. U.S. crude futures, meanwhile, fell around $31, their biggest quarterly loss since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic crushed global oil demand.
The declines follow progress toward ending the Middle East conflict, lagging behind the significant gains sparked earlier by hostilities.
Analysts cut their oil price forecasts for 2026 for the first time since the start of the Iran war, following five consecutive monthly hikes, as the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz eased concerns about prolonged supply disruptions. Reuters poll shown Tuesday.
US Vice President JD Vance said Iran would not be allowed to impose tolls across the strait, telling the Michael Knowles Show: “This is not going to end in a place where the Iranians collect tolls on ships that go through the Strait of Hormuz.” »
Tanker traffic through this critical waterway began to resume, with Vance saying oil flows across the strait had been restored to pre-war levels.
Meanwhile, U.S. crude oil inventories fell further last week, while gasoline stocks also fell, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute data released Tuesday.
Crude inventories fell by 6.1 million barrels in the week ended June 26, the sources said on condition of anonymity.
Markets are waiting for official U.S. oil inventory data from the Energy Information Administration to be released at 10:30 a.m. EDT on Wednesday.
