Oil prices fell on Friday and were on track for their steepest weekly decline in six months after US President Donald Trump said talks to end the war with Iran were going well and that he would suspend attacks on the country's energy facilities for 10 days, UNN reports with reference to Reuters.
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Brent crude futures fell 84 cents, or 0.8%, to $107.17 a barrel as of 03:53 GMT (05:53 Kyiv time), while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures lost $1.02, or 1.1%, to $93.46 a barrel, paring gains seen in the previous positive session.
Both benchmarks were down 4.6% on a weekly basis despite Brent rising 5.7% and WTI 4.6% on Thursday amid fears of further war escalation.
"Despite talk of de-escalation, oil prices depend on the duration of the war, not just headlines. Any direct damage to oil infrastructure or a protracted conflict could force markets to quickly revise prices upwards," said Priyanka Sachdeva, an analyst at Phillip Nova.
Trump suspends strikes on Iranian energy facilities until April 626.03.26, 22:32
While Trump announced a suspension of attacks on Iran's energy infrastructure, the US also sent thousands of troops to the Middle East, and Trump is considering using ground forces to seize Iran's strategically important oil hub - Kharg Island, the publication writes.
An Iranian official said that the 15-point US proposal, handed over to Tehran by Pakistan, was "one-sided and unfair."
The war has led to a reduction in global oil supplies by 11 million barrels per day, with the International Energy Agency calling this crisis worse than the two oil crises of the 1970s and the Russian-Ukrainian gas war combined.
War with Iran became the biggest threat to energy in history - IEA20.03.26, 20:10
Analysts at Macquarie Group said that if the war begins to subside soon, oil prices will fall rapidly in the coming months, but will still remain at pre-war levels. However, they said, prices could rise to $200 if the war drags on until the end of June.
Trump's team is studying what a jump in oil prices to $200 would mean - Bloomberg26.03.26, 12:43
"Market pressure is building every day. Asian countries are using reserve stocks and weighing possible demand adjustments," said Mukesh Sahdev, founder and CEO of Australian consulting firm XAnalysts.