(RTTNews) – Crude oil prices fell sharply on Friday, extending losses from Thursday’s session as efforts by third-party mediators to bring the US and Iran back to the negotiating table intensified, while the Middle East remained free of any new US vs Iran attacks over the past 24 hours.
WTI crude oil for August delivery was last seen trading at $71.33 per barrel, down $0.75 (or 1.04%).
The US and Iran exchanged fire on July 7 and 8 after three separate incidents of projectile attacks on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, despite the signing of a memorandum of understanding to halt mutual attacks for 60 days.
US President Donald Trump allowed negotiations to continue and said Iran desperately needed a deal with the US, however, he expressed doubt whether Iran would be able to continue the deal.
Although the direction of the peace talks is still unclear, there have been no new attacks in the past 24 hours.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations Agency said the security threat in the Strait of Hormuz is at its highest level, read as “severe”.
In an advisory issued to boaters today, the UKMTO warned them to remain vigilant and travel through the southern route of the strait.
Citing data from Kpler, Reuters reported that LNG and oil tanker traffic dropped to 10 vessels on Thursday, its lowest level since June 28. The report said 14 ships transited on Wednesday compared to 22 on Monday.
A Qatari delegation is in Iran today to promote mediation, ease tensions and create favorable conditions for broader US-Iran talks, Reuters reported. The talks are held in coordination with the US
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Iran asked for talks to continue and the US has agreed, but he also said the US has told Iran the ceasefire is over.
Today, in its oil market report for 2026, the Paris-based International Energy Agency said that due to improving supply conditions and low prices, global oil consumption is gradually increasing after reaching a low point in the month of May.
However, the report forecast weaker-than-expected demand growth amid the ongoing Middle East conflict between the US and Iran, as well as Israel and Lebanon.
The energy watchdog predicted an annual increase of up to 1 million barrels per day, an improvement from a previous estimate of a 1.1 million barrel-per-day decline.
The agency said global oil supplies rose 4.1 million bpd in June to 98.8 million bpd, but remained about 9.4 million bpd below pre-war levels.
The IEA predicts that global oil supply will decline by an average of 3.7 million bpd in 2026.
Oil supply concerns guided prices, despite an unexpected increase in US crude oil inventories and a decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries last Sunday to increase its output following US-Iran mutual attacks following July 7-8.
On Sunday, OPEC+ announced that its seven member countries would increase output by 188,000 million bpd from August. This is the fifth consecutive increase announced by the OPEC+ alliance.
The alliance’s seven key members increased their output by nearly 800 million bpd from April to July. However, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to tanker traffic disrupted supplies to the group’s key members, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq.
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