Oil Falls a Second Day as Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Deal
Oil fell for a second day following a report Iran is willing to forgo nuclear weapons in a deal with the US in exchange for sanctions relief.
Brent dropped toward $65 a barrel, after declining 0.8% on Wednesday, while West Texas Intermediate traded near $62. Iran is ready to sign an agreement with certain conditions, NBC reported, citing Ali Shamkhani, a top adviser to the OPEC nation’s supreme leader.
Crude declined Wednesday after government data showed US stockpiles rose the most since March, ending a four-day rally that had seen it gain almost 10%. The advance had been driven by the trade truce between China and the US and President Donald Trump’s increasingly hostile rhetoric on Iranian supply.
Oil is still down by around 13% this year, and US producers have said they expect little change in prices before year-end. Increased flows from Iran would add to a potential glut later this year after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies last month began restoring supplies idled since 2022.
The group added only 25,000 barrels a day in April, a fraction of the scheduled 138,000 barrels a day, according to a monthly report released Wednesday. The alliance will consider another output increase at a June 1 meeting.
The International Energy Agency, which advises consuming nations and publishes forecasts that are more closely watched by oil traders than OPEC’s, will release its latest estimates of supply and demand later on Thursday in Paris.
Source: Blomberg
