Oil prices edged higher on Tuesday as markets steadied after several days of declines, with investors watching for developments on potential US-Iran talks at the United Nations General Assembly this week.
Brent crude futures for November rose 22 cents, or 0.22%, to US$100.57 a barrel at 8:21am Malaysian time, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for October gained two cents, or 0.02%, to US$95.80 a barrel.
The more actively traded November WTI contract rose 13 cents, or 0.14%, to US$92.49 a barrel.
US President Donald Trump said he would be open to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is expected to be in New York this week for the UN General Assembly, despite threats exchanged between Washington and Tehran on Sunday.
Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said the move higher in WTI and stronger opening in Brent appeared to be a typical short-covering bounce following the recent decline rather than a fundamental shift.
“Traders who were positioned for further downside are taking some risk off the table while the diplomatic narrative plays out,” he said.
Waterer added that oil prices were likely to remain range-bound and sensitive to headlines until there is clearer progress or a setback in US-Iran diplomatic efforts.
Meanwhile, Middle East tensions remained elevated after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis said they had attacked Riyadh and a Saudi Aramco facility in Yanbu, while stepping up efforts to cut off Saudi-backed forces from the Red Sea coast.
Three Iranian sources told Reuters that China had privately urged Tehran to help curb Houthi attacks after Saudi Arabia appealed to Beijing following a recent increase in the group’s military operations.
Saudi Aramco has increased exports through the Strait of Hormuz after attacks on its East-West Pipeline forced it to halt some shipments through Yanbu.
Tanker tracking data showed Saudi Aramco loaded about 14 million barrels of crude oil onto seven supertankers inside the Gulf on Sunday.
Separately, Libya’s National Oil Corp Chairman Massoud Suleman told Reuters that production at the Sharara oilfield had been partially reduced, without providing a reason.
Reuters
