Oil remained stable on Wednesday, receiving support as the market anticipated further direction amid ongoing U.S.-Iran discussions, with persistent geopolitical uncertainty contributing to price stability. Brent crude oil futures experienced an increase of 23 cents, representing a 0.3% rise, reaching $69.03 per barrel as of 0100. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude experienced an increase of 23 cents, representing a 0.4% rise, bringing the price to $64.19. The spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry stated on Tuesday that the nuclear discussions with the U.S. enabled Tehran to assess Washington’s commitment and indicated sufficient agreement to persist along the diplomatic path.
Diplomats from Iran and the U.S. engaged in discussions in Oman last week aimed at revitalizing diplomatic efforts, following the positioning of a naval flotilla by U.S. President Donald Trump in the region, which has heightened concerns regarding potential military action. Initially, oil prices experienced a decline following statements from Oman’s foreign minister regarding the productive nature of discussions linked to U.S.-Iran negotiations with Iran’s leading security official. However, optimism for a peaceful resolution was subsequently undermined by reports indicating that the U.S. might deploy a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East should the talks not yield results, according to analysts.
On Tuesday, Trump indicated that he was contemplating the deployment of a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East, despite ongoing preparations in Washington and Tehran to restart negotiations intended to prevent a new conflict. Market participants are anticipating the release of weekly U.S. oil inventory data from the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday.
According to estimates from analysts, crude inventories are projected to have increased by approximately 800,000 barrels during the week ending February 6. In contrast, it is anticipated that distillate and gasoline inventories experienced declines of roughly 1.3 million barrels and 400,000 barrels, respectively. U.S. crude inventories experienced an increase of 13.4 million barrels during the week concluding on February 6, according to market sources.