Oil prices dipped further on Thursday as United States President Donald Trump awaited Iran’s response to the latest US peace proposal.
Brent crude fell from around $106 per barrel to $102 on Thursday, while WTI also dropped to $96 from $98 earlier on Wednesday.
Iran’s government said it was reviewing the latest proposal from the US for a potential deal to end the nearly three-month conflict that has sent global fuel prices soaring.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei had earlier said that Iranians had “received US views and are reviewing them,” according to the Iranian state agency Nour News.
Al Jazeera reports that six weeks after a ceasefire took effect, efforts to bring the conflict to a permanent end have intensified in recent days as Pakistan’s military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, continues “talks and consultations” with Iranian authorities.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Iran on Wednesday for his second visit in less than a week to discuss Washington’s latest proposal.
Trump had warned that talks were on the “borderline” between a deal and the US renewing its attacks on Iran.
“Believe me, if we don’t get the right answers, it goes very quickly. We’re all ready to go,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday.
Trump, who has repeatedly set deadlines for Iran to reach a deal only to delay or cancel them, said he was willing to wait a few days to “get the right answers” from Tehran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that his ministry was ready for either talks or a return to fighting.
“Wherever it is necessary to fight, we will fight, and wherever it is necessary to negotiate, we will negotiate,” he said.
Meanwhile, seven leading OPEC+ oil-producing countries will likely agree to a modest hike in July output when they meet on June 7, four sources told Reuters, though delivery for several remains disrupted by the Iran conflict.
Reuters reports that the monthly target set by seven core OPEC+ members is expected to be raised by about 188,000 barrels per day.
The PUNCH reports that if the United States and Iran agree to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, petrol prices could crash.
Recall that Brent was $111 earlier in the week.
