NEW YORK: Oil prices were little changed on Tuesday as the market waited for direction from news on Iran and Russia and data on the U.S. economy and U.S. oil inventories.
Brent futures rose 27 cents, or 0.4%, to $69.31 a barrel at 9:58 a.m. EST (1458 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $64.48.
“The market is still focused on the tensions between Iran and the U.S.,” said Tamas Varga, oil analyst at brokerage PVM. “But unless there are concrete signs of supply disruptions, prices will likely start going lower.”
Nuclear talks with the U.S. allowed Tehran to gauge Washington’s seriousness and showed enough consensus to continue on the diplomatic track, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.
U.S. and Iranian diplomats held talks through Omani mediators in Oman last week in an effort to revive diplomacy, after U.S. President Donald Trump positioned a naval flotilla in the region, raising fears of new military action. On Monday, oil prices rose more than 1% when the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration advised U.S.-flagged commercial vessels to stay as far from Iran’s territorial waters as possible and to decline verbally if Iranian forces seek permission to board.
