Oil edges higher as traders eye possible US-Iran talks at UN General Assembly
Crude prices steadied on Tuesday, with Brent up 0.22% and WTI nearly flat, as investors watched for signs of US-Iran diplomacy in New York.
Oil prices firmed on Tuesday, steadying after several sessions of declines as investors waited for signals on whether the United States and Iran might open talks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this week.
Brent crude's November contract added 22 cents, or 0.22%, to trade at $100.57 a barrel. The West Texas Intermediate October contract, due to expire on Tuesday, edged up 2 cents, or 0.02%, to $95.80 a barrel, while the more actively traded November WTI contract rose 13 cents, or 0.14%, to $92.49.
A market analyst described the gains as looking more like a short-covering bounce after the recent slide than a change in fundamentals, noting that traders positioned for further weakness were trimming risk while the diplomatic picture remains unclear. Prices are likely to stay range-bound and headline-sensitive until there is either clear progress or a setback in US-Iran engagement, the analyst added.
The diplomatic track drew attention after Iran and the US exchanged threats on Sunday, even as President Donald Trump said he would be open to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is expected in New York for the General Assembly. Over the weekend, Iran also passed its conditions for re-engaging in negotiations to mediators, according to its security chief, Mohsen Rezaei.
Supply-side risks kept the market on edge. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis said they attacked Riyadh and a Saudi Aramco facility in Yanbu, and have stepped up efforts to cut off Saudi-backed forces from the Red Sea coast. China has privately urged Tehran to help curb Houthi attacks, three Iranian sources said, after Saudi Arabia appealed to Beijing following a surge in the group's military operations.
Aramco has raised exports through the Strait of Hormuz after attacks on its East-West Pipeline forced it to halt some shipments through Yanbu. Tanker tracking data showed the company loaded about 14 million barrels of crude onto seven supertankers inside the Gulf on Sunday.
Separately, Libya's National Oil Corp chairman, Massoud Suleman, said on Monday that production at the country's Sharara oilfield had been partially reduced, without giving a reason.