Oil Prices Pare Gains as Qatar Confirms Ongoing US-Iran Diplomatic Efforts
Oil prices pared gains on Tuesday after Qatar announced that efforts to secure a diplomatic resolution to the US-Iran conflict were continuing. The price of Brent futures rose by 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $83.94 a barrel, but earlier in the session it had hit a high of $86.33.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 30 cents, or 0.37%, at $80.04 a barrel after touching a session high of $82.33. Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst with UBS, attributed the price movement to comments from Qatari officials that a potential US-Iran resolution had been drafted.
The Hormuz dispute remains a central sticking point in talks between the two countries, with Iran wanting control over inbound shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and visibility over outbound traffic. Shipping traffic at key Gulf waterways has held largely unchanged this week, despite some improvement from extremely depressed levels earlier.