Brent and West Texas Intermediate each lost more than $1 in Asian trading as markets weighed hopes for peace in Ukraine and a halt to further escalation involving Iran. Brent was trading at $91.32 a barrel and WTI at $85.32 at the time of writing.
The latest meeting between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators produced no sign of a future peace deal. The sides completed another prisoner exchange but remain committed to their respective demands. In Iran, Supreme National Security Council head Mohsen Rezaei said none of the country’s enriched uranium would leave and warned of a response if the United States launched new strikes, Reuters reported, citing his televised remarks.
“Markets are falling on expectations that behind-the-scenes efforts are underway to secure a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and that it is unlikely the Iran war will escalate ahead of the US-China summit next week,” Hiroyuki Kikukawa of Nissan Securities Investment said, according to Reuters.
Other pressure on prices came from reports of higher OPEC oil production in October and the American Petroleum Institute’s latest estimate showing a rise in crude inventories. Continued reports of attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, however, limited the decline. ING commodity strategists wrote in a Wednesday note that expectations of improved Middle Eastern supply and bearish U.S. inventory data had weighed on the market, while uncertainty around the U.S.-Iran conflict continued to provide support.
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