Crude oil futures contracts fell slightly around midday Tuesday, weighed down by signs of improvements in Strait of Hormuz oil tanker traffic, as a new round of peace talks between the United States and Iran was underway.
At 11:45 a.m. ET, August NYMEX West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down about 65cts to $70.10/bbl. September WTI was 55cts lower to $69.85/bbl.
London-based August ICE Brent was off by 10cts to $73.05/bbl in light trade as it heads toward expiration. September Brent was 25cts lower to $73.65/bbl.
Both oil contracts on a continual front-month basis are on track for its biggest quarterly loss since early 2020, when prices fell due to demand destruction amid the Covid pandemic.
Most trading activity in refined products was also focused on the next-month contracts. August NYMEX RBOB futures were down 0.6ct to $2.9070/gal, while July RBOB were up 0.8ct to $3.0530/gal. The August ULSD contract was up 3.35cts to $3.2205/gal and July ULSD was 1.70cts higher to $3.3485/gal.
U.S. and Iranian officials are meeting in Doha Tuesday, following military strikes over the weekend that could weigh on the previously agreed memorandum of understanding signed between Washington and Tehran.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that a power struggle inside Tehran is threatening the peace talks. Citing officials familiar with the negotiations, the newspaper reported that Iranian civilian leaders are seeking release of billions in frozen assets while hardline military officials are pressing for control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Goldman Sachs energy analysts said in a late Monday note that oil flows through the strait have been ramping up swiftly prior to the weekend military escalation, pushing Persian Gulf flows to nearly 80% of pre-war levels.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
Reporting by Frank Tang, ftang@opisnet.com; Editing by Steve Cronin, scronin@opisnet.com