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Oil Drops as Trump Says Iran Talks to Resume After Calling Off Planned Attack

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Oil Drops as Trump Says Iran Talks to Resume After Calling Off Planned Attack

Crude oil prices were falling Monday as US President Donald Trump said talks with Iran were set to begin Monday after he called off a planned military strike against the Gulf nation.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 6% at $79.62 a barrel in afternoon trade, while Brent slid 5.1% to $83.43.

"Hopes of a peace deal in the Middle East weighed on crude prices," D.A. Davidson said a note to clients.

Over the weekend, Trump said negotiations with Iran would begin Monday, without revealing the venue or participants, news outlets reported. In a social media post, Trump said he had called off a planned attack against Iran after being asked by Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries because the "perimeters of a deal has been agreed to."

A deal would include "the immediate, complete, and total opening of the Hormuz Strait, and an end to Iran's nuclear threat," Trump wrote.

However, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei on Monday ruled out an immediate plan to negotiate with Washington, according to news reports. Iran was in talks with Oman regarding the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important chokepoint for crude flows, Baghaei reportedly said.

"The effort is to determine, at the earliest opportunity and in consultation with Oman, a route that is naturally temporary and based on which the safety of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz can be ensured," CNN reported, citing the Iranian official.

Trump insisted Monday that talks between the US and Iran are ongoing and that Washington is in full control of the strait.

"Nothing gets through to Iran, unless we want it to, and nothing will get through, unless a deal, or total surrender, is accomplished," Trump said in a separate social media post. "Whether Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused, for decades."

Separately, seven members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, dubbed OPEC+, said over the weekend they agreed to raise combined oil production by 188,000 barrels per day next month, adding to downward pressure on crude prices.

Oil prices slumped in May and June, but surged last month as the US and Iran resumed hostilities, just weeks after signing a memorandum of understanding to end the conflict that began at the end of February. WTI jumped nearly 22% in July, while Brent soared 24%.

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