-- Crude prices were mixed on Thursday as investors assessed the potential for a second round of US-Iran talks.
Front-month Murban crude futures eased by 0.5% to $100.38 per barrel, while Brent futures were up 0.7% to $95.61/bbl.
While a US led blockade continues to suppress shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, news of an impending second round of peace talks helped temper recent price volatility, analysts said.
"Oil has steadied, with Brent holding near $95 on signs the US and Iran may extend a ceasefire and restart talks aimed at ending a war that has choked global supplies of key commodities from the Persian Gulf," Saxo Bank analysts said.
Meanwhile, Iran has reportedly offered to allow commercial vessels safe passage through Omani waters within the Strait of Hormuz, provided a broader agreement is reached to prevent further military escalation.
However, "the key upside risk for the market is that peace talks between the US and Iran break down. This isn't an unrealistic scenario, given that US and Iranian demands remain fairly wide apart," ING analysts said.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remained well below historical averages, as an effective US-Iran blockade continued to disrupt vessel movements in the strategic waterway, according to a Bloomberg analysis on Wednesday.
On the supply side, US crude stockpiles fell by 900,000 barrels to 463.8 million bbls in the week ended Apr. 10, the Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report on Wednesday.