Oil prices little changed but set for steepest monthly, quarterly losses since 2020

NEW YORK: Oil prices were little changed on Tuesday but were headed for their biggest monthly and quarterly losses since the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, with investors eyeing potential US-Iran talks in Doha amid a strained interim ceasefire in the four-month-long war. Brent futures fell 13 cents, or 0. 2 percent, to USD 73. 02 a barrel at 12: 34 p. m. EDT (1634 GMT), while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 89 cents, or 1. 3 percent, to USD 69. 86 a barrel. Both crude benchmarks were close to where they were trading on February 27, the day before the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, when Brent closed at USD 72. 48 a barrel and WTI closed at USD 67. 02. READ MORE: Oil rises on US-Iran strikes “I wouldn’t say the market has priced out a risk premium, but previously stranded ships have become available with the increase in ships moving out of the Gulf, creating a temporary wave of new supply, ” UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said. Morgan Stanley said it now models an implied global oil market surplus of 4. 8 million barrels per day in 2027. Top US envoys who arrived in Doha will not hold a high-level meeting with Iran, a Qatari official said on Tuesday, casting doubt on the progress of efforts to bring a lasting halt to the Iran war and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz. About 20 percent of global oil supplies passed through the strait before the war.

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