(RTTNews) – Crude oil rose on Wednesday as traders saw prospects for a breakthrough in the upcoming second round of US-Iran talks against the ongoing US blockade of all Iranian ports across the Strait of Hormuz, which has stoked supply concerns.
WTI crude oil for delivery in May was last seen trading up $0.36 (or 0.39%) at $91.64 per barrel.
After US President Donald Trump last week announced a two-week ceasefire in the US-Iran war, a US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance visited Pakistan on Friday to begin discussions with Iranian counterparts on Saturday.
On Sunday, Trump described US-Iran talks as a “failure.” Trump said Iran’s refusal to end its nuclear ambitions was the reason for the breakdown of talks. As a result, oil prices rose due to supply concerns.
On Monday, under Trump’s orders, US naval forces imposed a blockade on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from Iranian ports.
U.S. forces are turning back a number of ships to impose a near-complete blockade of shipping to and from Iran, although ships to and from non-Iranian ports are allowed to pass through.
The markets calmed down a bit after Trump said in an interview with the New York Post yesterday that the US delegation would again visit Pakistan to hold talks with its Iranian counterparts.
Today, in an interview with Fox Business Network, Trump claimed that the Iran war was “close to over”, although he added that the work is not over yet and stressed that Iran wanted a deal “very badly”.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund has warned that there could be a risk of a global economic recession if oil prices continue to rise.
Global GDP growth for 2026 is projected to be 3.10%, although this is projected to fall to 2.00% as the situation worsens.
Speaking to an ABC News correspondent, Trump hinted at “a big turning point” coming this week and said he considered an extension of the ceasefire unnecessary.
Iran’s official news agency IRNA quoted President Masoud Pezeshkian as saying diplomacy was the preferred path to resolve disputes.
Experts are skeptical of a positive outcome to the peace talks as Trump strongly opposes Iran possessing any nuclear weapons while hard-liners in the Iranian government are unwilling to accede to Trump’s demands.
Additionally, Iran wants Israel’s ongoing military campaign against Lebanon’s Hezbollah military group to be included in the ceasefire, while the US opposes the move.
What is relevant is that a high-level meeting between the Israeli and Lebanese delegations took place in Washington yesterday, brokered by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in which there were no significant announcements on progress or the next round of talks.
On the inventories front, data from the American Petroleum Institute showed that US crude oil inventories rose by 610,000 barrels for the week ended April 10, further accelerating the previous week’s 3,720,000 barrel-increase.
US crude oil inventories fell by 910,000 barrels in the week ending April 10, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
For the same period, gasoline inventories decreased by 6,328,000 barrels and distillate inventories decreased by 3,122,000 barrels.
Yesterday, the IEA said global demand for oil will decline more than during the COVID-19 pandemic period.
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