Oil Falls Over $1 on Iran, Ukraine Peace Talk Hopes

Oil prices fell by more than $1 a barrel on Thursday as hopes for peace talks involving Iran and Ukraine pressured markets, according to Reuters. As of 0141 GMT, Brent crude was down $1.14, or 1.2%, at $91.62 a barrel, and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down $1.04, or 1.2%, at $85.49. On Wednesday, Brent had risen about 1.4% and WTI 0.6% after both touched two-month lows on Tuesday.

Russia-Ukraine Talks

Negotiators agreed a major prisoner exchange at two days of talks in Abu Dhabi that ended on Wednesday. US mediators said differences remain on other major issues, including territory, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv hopes for concrete results this year.

Iran

Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei said Iran will not let any enriched nuclear material leave the country and warned of consequences if the United States launches new strikes. Washington says nuclear issues must be part of any initial talks to end the eight-month-old war, while US officials downplayed the need for further strikes.

Other Market Factors

OPEC+ crude output jumped in October, led by Saudi Arabia, despite continued disruption to Strait of Hormuz shipments. US crude stocks rose by 9 million barrels in the latest week, according to American Petroleum Institute data. Official US Energy Information Administration data was due on Thursday, delayed a day by a US holiday.

Analyst View

Hiroyuki Kikukawa of Nissan Securities Investment said that given the uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz, markets are unlikely to suffer a significant collapse.