2026-04-16T05:15:20+00:00
Shafaq News
Oil prices were little changed on Thursday, reversing
earlier declines, on scepticism that peace talks between the U.S. and Iran will
reach a deal to end the war that has bottled up oil output from the key Middle
East producing region.
Brent crude futures were up 9 cents to $95.02 a barrel at
0427 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 44 cents to $91.73
a barrel.
Both benchmarks settled little changed on Wednesday but
traded in a wide range.
The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has resulted in the
largest-ever disruption of global oil and gas supplies
due to Iran’s interruption of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which
typically carries about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows.
“While there are hopes for de-escalation, many
investors remain sceptical, given that U.S.-Iran talks have repeatedly broken
down even after appearing to make progress,” said Toshitaka Tazawa, an
analyst at Fujitomi Securities.
“Until a peace deal is reached and free navigation
through the strait is restored, WTI prices are expected to continue fluctuating
between $80 and $100,” he added.
Analysts from ING estimate that roughly 13 million barrels
per day of oil flow has been disrupted by the closure of the strait, after
taking into consideration pipeline diversions and the trickle of tankers that
have passed through the gateway, they said in a note on Thursday.
With the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports announced after the
collapse of peace talks over the weekend, the disruption could increase.
“The physical market is becoming tighter every day that
passes without a restart of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz,” the
ING analysts said.
A source briefed by Tehran told Reuters that Iran could
consider allowing ships to sail freely through the Omani side of the Strait of
Hormuz if a deal was
reached to prevent renewed conflict after a two-week ceasefire started on April
8.
U.S. and Iranian officials were weighing a return to
Pakistan for further talks as early as the coming weekend. Pakistan’s army
chief arrived in Tehran on Wednesday as a mediator to try to prevent a renewal of the conflict.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that
Washington will not be renewing the waivers that allowed the purchase of some
Iranian and Russian oil without facing U.S. sanctions.
Underscoring the tightness of global crude and oil product supply, U.S.
inventories of oil, gasoline and distillate fuels fell last week, the Energy
Information Administration said on Wednesday, as imports declined and exports
jumped to meet the needs of countries searching for barrels to replace the
disrupted flows.
(REUTERS)
Only the headline is edited by Shafaq News.
