Summary
- Brent, WTI slip after previous session’s sharp rally
- Trump says talks with Iran continue
- Uncertainty over US-Iran talks keeps markets on edge
LONDON, June 2 (Reuters) – Oil prices fell more than 1% on Tuesday, paring the previous session’s sharp gains, after U.S. President Donald Trump said talks with Iran were ongoing.
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Trump’s comments came despite a report that Tehran had suspended indirect negotiations with Washington to end hostilities.
Brent crude futures were down $1.53, or 1.6%, to $93.45 a barrel at 0939 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate fell $1.42, or 1.5%, to $90.74 a barrel.
“The social media posts from U.S. President Trump indicating a de-escalation of tensions are weighing on crude prices today,” said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. “That said, oil flows through the Strait remain restricted.”
Both benchmarks rose more than 5% on Monday, having fallen more than 16% in May on hopes of a peace deal.
CONFLICTING SIGNALS
In a CNBC interview on Monday, Trump said he did not mind if the talks were over. Shortly afterwards, however, he posted on social media that negotiations were continuing and told ABC News he expected a deal to extend the ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz “over the next week”.
“The market is currently focused on whether there’s any concrete progress or setbacks in U.S.-Iran negotiations, the tone and substance of statements from both sides (particularly Iran’s threats regarding the Strait of Hormuz), and actual physical tanker movements through the waterway,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.
The status of negotiations will determine whether the current risk premium remains embedded in oil prices or starts to unwind, Waterer added.
Lebanon on Monday announced a partial ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, a limited de-escalation in a conflict that has fuelled the broader war with Iran.
Iran has effectively halted most non-Iranian shipping in and out of the Gulf since the war began, choking off about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows and driving prices up by 50% or more.
August could mark a tipping point for much higher oil prices if demand picks up and the Iran war supply crisis persists, an executive from Abu Dhabi’s state oil company said on Tuesday.
U.S. crude exports climbed to a record 5.6 million barrels per day in May, ship tracking estimates showed on Monday, as the Middle East crisis boosted demand from Asian and European refiners.
According to a preliminary Reuters poll, U.S. crude stockpiles are expected to have fallen by about 3.6 million barrels in the week ended May 29, extending the prior week’s draw, while distillates and gasoline inventories are also seen lower.
Meanwhile, Russian drones and missiles struck Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities early on Tuesday, killing at least 11 people and wounding more than 100, authorities said, after days of warnings of a major assault.
Ukraine’s military said it hit Russia’s Ilsky oil refinery in the Krasnodar region overnight, causing a fire.
Reporting by Stephanie Kelly in London, Pooja Menon in Bengaluru and Siyi Liu in Singapore; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Mark Potter and Jan Harvey
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