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.