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Oil prices fell sharply on Tuesday, touching their lowest levels in nearly a week as recovering Middle East crude exports outweighed continued uncertainty surrounding U.S.-Iran diplomacy.
Brent crude futures for December delivery dropped 2% to $95.88 a barrel, while November West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 3.7% to $89.20. Earlier, Brent reached $95.76 and WTI touched $89.08, their lowest levels since September 23.
Prices declined despite President Donald Trump rejecting an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Trump also dismissed as “untrue” a report suggesting Washington could ease sanctions and release frozen Iranian assets in exchange for progress on Tehran’s nuclear program.
Qatari mediators are still expected to hold separate discussions with the U.S. and Iran, although both sides reportedly remain pessimistic about reaching an agreement before the U.S. midterm elections.
Oil traders instead focused on signs that physical crude supplies from the Middle East are improving. Preliminary Kpler data showed exports from major regional producers climbed to 12.8 million barrels per day in September, the highest since February, led largely by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Saudi Arabia has also repaired its east-west pipeline and resumed exports through the Red Sea port of Yanbu, restoring an important route that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. TankerTrackers.com estimated Saudi crude exports averaged nearly 9 million barrels per day over the past seven days.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Energy offered companies exchanges of up to 40 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of an internationally coordinated response to supply disruptions caused by the Iran war.
The offer forms part of a previously announced 172-million-barrel U.S. release supporting an International Energy Agency commitment totaling 400 million barrels.
U.S. SPR inventories stood at 283.8 million barrels as of September 25, according to Energy Information Administration data, marking their lowest level since October 1982.
Refined fuel markets remain under pressure, however, with supply disruptions contributing to record U.S. diesel prices and prompting efforts to increase emergency fuel availability.
