Brent crude oil prices are hovering above $105 a barrel amid cautious optimism over US-Iran talks in Islamabad. Oil prices have fluctuated over the past week. While they went down to $89 on Tuesday, the prices shot up again after the United States Navy seized two Iranian ships near the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude futures settled at $105.33 a barrel, rising 26 US cents, or about 0.3 per cent. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures settled at $94.40 a barrel, falling $1.45, or 1.5 per cent.
Brent crude gained about 16 per cent, while WTI also rose nearly 13 per cent this past week.
The prices are expected to fluctuate further as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrives in Islamabad for the next round of talks with the United States.
Prices, which scaled to $110 a barrel at the close of Friday’s trading session, have now declined to $105 a barrel after Donald Trump announced that he will send Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan for the talks with Iran’s foreign minister. Later, Trump said that Iran plans to make an offer aimed at satisfying US demands.
“They are making an offer, and we will have to see,” Trump said.
Early on Saturday, the prices rose over 2 per cent on fears of renewed military escalation between Iran and the United States.
Oil prices and supply disruptions have remained a cause of concern for the nations that largely depend on oil and LNG from the Gulf.
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