Oil prices dropped further by about one per cent on Thursday, down for three consecutive days, after Qatar said Iran and the U.S. had made progress in indirect talks focused on the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent futures lost 77 cents or 1.1 per cent to $70.80 a barrel by 0256 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 84 cents or 1.2 per cent to $67.74 a barrel.
Both benchmarks also fell more than one per cent in the previous session, hitting their lowest levels in four months.
OPEC+ oil-producing countries will likely agree to a further hike in their output targets from August when they meet on Sunday, a Reuters report noted, quoting sources.
Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that supplies through the waterway — through which a fifth of the world’s crude usually passes — hit more than 10 million barrels a day.
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Still, Charu Chanana at Saxo Markets warned “investors should be careful not to confuse lower oil prices with the end of the inflation problem”, according to AFP.
“The broader price picture remains sticky. Wage growth, services inflation, tariffs, supply-chain shifts, and fiscal spending can all keep inflation above the Fed’s comfort zone, even if energy prices fall.
“If the ceasefire breaks, nuclear talks stall, Hormuz reopening faces delays or regional tensions return, oil could rebuild its geopolitical premium,” she said.
