Oil Prices Drop To 11-Day Low As Traders Weigh Iran Diplomacy Hopes, Saudi Export Recovery
Sunday Etuk with agency report
Crude prices fell to their lowest level in 11 days on Monday, with traders pricing in optimism over potential US-Iran diplomatic talks at this week’s UN meeting alongside signs of a partial rebound in Saudi Arabian export shipments.
Brent crude and US West Texas Intermediate both touched their weakest levels since September 10 earlier in the session. The Brent November contract stood at $101.18 a barrel at 1254 GMT, down $2.69, or 2.6%.
The WTI October contract, set to expire Tuesday, dropped $2.69, or 2.7%, to $97.61 a barrel, while the November contract traded at $93.49.
The price moves came as Iran and the United States traded fresh threats on Sunday, even as President Donald Trump signaled openness to a meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is expected to attend the UN General Assembly in New York this week.
Iran has relayed conditions to mediators for resuming negotiations, according to Al Jazeera, which cited Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei.
Fighting in the Middle East nonetheless continued. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi forces said they struck Riyadh and a Saudi Aramco facility in the Red Sea city of Yanbu, part of a push to sever the Red Sea coast from areas held by Saudi-backed forces.
Three Iranian sources familiar with the matter said China has asked Iran to help restrain the Houthis, following an appeal to Beijing from Saudi Arabia after the strikes.
The Houthi attacks on Aramco’s East-West pipeline have pushed the company to route more exports through the Strait of Hormuz this month and next, after halting some shipments via Yanbu.
“Middle East oil flows remain surprisingly strong despite the disruption to Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline,” JPMorgan analysts wrote in a September 18 note, adding that the most notable pivot has come from Saudi Arabia.
Satellite data cited in the note showed Saudi crude moving through the Strait of Hormuz averaging 2.9 million barrels per day over the past six days, up sharply from roughly 700,000 bpd in August.
Separately, Libya’s National Oil Corporation Chairman Massoud Suleman told Reuters that the country’s Sharara oilfield has seen a partial production decline, though he did not give a reason. (Reuters)
