Oil prices rose on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump denied reports that he was willing to ease sanctions on Iran, while Qatar continued efforts to facilitate peace talks between the two countries.
Brent crude futures rose $1.14, or 1.11%, to $103.73 a barrel by 0131 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 34 cents, or 0.38%, to $89.72 a barrel.
Brent is on track for a monthly gain of around 14%, its biggest monthly increase since July, while WTI is expected to rise about 4% this month after briefly exceeding $106 a barrel for the first time since May.
The spread between the two benchmarks has also widened to its highest level in four months, as traders monitor possible U.S. restrictions on diesel exports. Such measures could create an oversupply in the U.S. domestic market and lead refiners to reduce crude processing.
U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly considering allowing sales of red-dyed diesel instead of imposing an export ban, as the administration seeks to ease fuel prices ahead of the November midterm elections.
“Further evidence of recovering flows through the Strait of Hormuz, hope for alternatives to a US diesel export restriction will emerge, and no material Iranian escalation in the last 24 hours has seen prices come off a little,” said Saul Kavonic, head of energy research at MST Marquee.
He added that the situation remains volatile, with oil logistics continuing to face high costs and constraints.
Qatar said on Tuesday that it hoped its shuttle diplomacy between Iran and the United States could lead to progress in negotiations.
“We are exchanging messages between the parties, and we’re working towards establishing a common ground in order to get into a deal that would save all of us from the repercussions of the conflict,” Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari told reporters.
However, Trump denied an Axios report citing U.S. officials as saying he was willing to provide Iran with sanctions relief and release frozen Iranian funds in exchange for concrete steps by Tehran regarding its nuclear programme.
“This is untrue. I offered them NOTHING,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia resumed oil tanker loadings from its Red Sea port of Yanbu on Tuesday after restarting operations on the East-West Pipeline.
Crude oil exports from Middle Eastern producers increased to 16.328 million barrels per day in September, the highest level since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began in late February.
U.S. crude oil and gasoline inventories also increased last week, while distillate stocks declined, according to data from the American Petroleum Institute cited by market sources.
Crude inventories rose by 1.02 million barrels in the week ending September 25.
Official inventory data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due later on Wednesday. Analysts polled by Reuters expect crude and product inventories to have declined.
Source: Reuters
