HOUSTON: Oil prices dropped on Tuesday on hopes Iran will resume talks with the US and Israel to end the conflict that has shut the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s major waterways for transporting crude and refined products.
Brent crude futures settled at USD94.79 a barrel, down USD4.57, or 4.6 percent. US West Texas Intermediate crude finished at USD91.20, down USD7.80, or 7.87 percent.
Both benchmarks rose in the previous session, with Brent climbing more than 4 percent and WTI nearly 3 percent after the US military began a blockade of Iranian ports.
READ MORE: Oil prices drop on hope of more talks between US and Iran
“There seems to be this hope in the market there is going to be a better outcome,” said John Kilduff, partner with Again Capital. “All of this means the market had earlier priced in a lot of the disruption we’ve already seen.”
Brent prices are more susceptible to global supply disruptions than are WTI prices, which reflect what is shipped domestically within the US and to Central and South America.