Oil prices retreat on positive progress in US-Iran talks

By Zeynep Beyza Kilic

ANKARA (AA) - Oil prices decreased on Thursday aided by the increasing prospect that the Iran-US nuclear talks are close to reaching an agreement.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $93.46 per barrel at 0700 GMT with a 1.42% drop after closing the previous session at $94.81 a barrel.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $92.33 per barrel at the same time for a 1.42% decrease after ending the previous session at $93.66 a barrel.

"After weeks of intensive talks, we are closer than ever to an agreement," Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister and Chief Negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani said via Twitter on Wednesday.

"Our negotiating partners need to be realistic, avoid intransigence and heed lessons of the past 4 years," he said, adding that it is time for serious decisions.

Such positive developments in the US-Iran nuclear negotiations are helping to calm oil prices, as hopes intensify of Iranian barrels returning to the global market, said Claudio Galimberti, senior vice president of Rystad Energy, in a statement on Thursday.

"Prices are sliding on news of progress and broad consensus in the talks as it could ultimately see up to 900,000 bpd [barrels per day] of crude added to the market by December this year," Galimberti added.

Political tensions continue between Russia and Ukraine after Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine accused Kyiv government forces of attacking their territory with mortars on Thursday and violating the agreements to end the conflict.

Meanwhile, US commercial crude oil inventories rose by 1.1 million barrels to 411.5 million barrels against the market expectation of a 1.8 million-barrel draw, according to Energy Information Administration data.