Oil Prices Decline as Middle East Crude Flows Recover

Oil prices fell on Tuesday as investors focused on signs of recovering crude exports from the Middle East, which has been affected by the US-Israeli war on Iran. Brent crude futures were down $1.38, or 1.3%, to $103.88 a barrel at 1:03 p.m. ET (1703 GMT), while US West Texas Intermediate crude was down $2.04 or 2.16% at $90.58.

The decline comes as Saudi Arabia resumed oil tanker loadings from its Red Sea port of Yanbu after restarting operations on the East-West Pipeline, improving the outlook for oil exports from the Middle East. Crude oil exports from key Middle East producers have also rebounded in September to 16.328 million barrels per day, the highest since the US-Israeli war on Iran started in late February.

However, concerns over potential supply disruptions in the region remain, and US President Donald Trump said he has offered Iran nothing to end the war, rejecting media reports that cited US officials saying he was willing to ease sanctions and release frozen funds for 'concrete' steps regarding Iran's nuclear program.