Oil Prices Rise as Trump Rejects Reports of Iran Sanctions Relief
Oil prices moved higher on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump rejected reports that Washington was considering easing sanctions on Iran, keeping uncertainty over Middle East tensions in focus.
Brent crude futures for the November contract, which expires on Wednesday, increased by 71 cents, or 0.69%, to $103.30 per barrel. The more actively traded December Brent contract gained 35 cents to reach $96.51.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also advanced, rising 43 cents, or 0.48%, to $89.81 a barrel.
Brent crude is on course for a monthly increase of around 14%, which would mark its strongest monthly rise since July. WTI is also expected to record a monthly gain of about 4% after briefly climbing above $106 earlier in the month.
Market sentiment has remained sensitive to developments involving Iran, the United States and other countries in the Middle East. Qatar has said it hopes diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran could help produce progress in negotiations.
Trump, however, rejected an Axios report claiming that he was prepared to provide Iran with sanctions relief and release frozen Iranian funds in exchange for specific steps related to Tehran’s nuclear programme.
At the same time, oil supply from the Middle East has continued to recover. Saudi Arabia recently resumed crude shipments from its Red Sea port of Yanbu after restoring operations on the East-West Pipeline.
According to J.P. Morgan research, crude exports from Middle Eastern producers reached 16.328 million barrels per day in September, the highest level since the US-Israeli conflict with Iran began in late February.
Analysts said the recovery in regional supplies could limit further increases in oil prices, while any fresh disruption or escalation in tensions could put renewed upward pressure on the market.
In the United States, crude oil and gasoline inventories reportedly increased last week, while distillate stocks declined. Official inventory figures from the US Energy Information Administration were expected later on Wednesday.
