Key Takeaways

• Modest pullback: Brent crude fell 0.4% to $110.87 per barrel, while WTI dropped 0.3% to $98.87 — both extending Tuesday’s 1% declines.
• Trump’s optimism: The president told lawmakers the Iran war could end “very quickly.”
• Vance joins in: Vice President JD Vance said Tehran wants to make a deal.
• Strike delayed: Trump earlier postponed a planned attack on Iran, citing ongoing negotiations.
• Hormuz still choked: Traffic through the waterway remains at a fraction of pre-war levels.
• 20% of global oil disrupted: Hormuz’s closure continues to underpin crude prices.

Oil prices fell slightly during Asian trading on Wednesday as markets awaited more cues on U.S.-Iran talks after Washington flagged progress in ongoing negotiations.

Brent oil futures for July fell 0.4% to $110.87 a barrel by 23:35 ET (03:35 GMT), while West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.3% to $98.87 a barrel. Both contracts fell about 1% on Tuesday.

Trump Says Iran War to End “Very Quickly”

U.S. President Donald Trump told lawmakers on Tuesday evening that the Iran war could end “very quickly.” He had earlier this week said he postponed a planned attack against Iran, and that negotiations with Tehran were going well.

Separately, Vice President JD Vance also struck an optimistic tone on the Iran war, stating that Tehran wanted to make a deal.

Still, losses in crude were limited by signs of continued supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic through the waterway remained at a fraction of pre-war levels, affecting about 20% of the world’s oil supply.

The U.S. on Monday extended a sanctions waiver on seaborne Russian oil, allowing countries vulnerable to oil import disruptions to secure supply.

Iran, in its latest peace proposal, called for ending hostilities on all fronts, the exit of U.S. forces from the region, and reparations for damage from the war, state media reported on Tuesday.

The U.S. had largely rejected Iran’s earlier proposals, arguing that ending the country’s nuclear ambitions remained a key demand in any negotiation.

U.S. Stockpile Data Awaited Amid Continued Supply Disruptions

Focus is now on upcoming U.S. inventory data for more cues on oil stockpiles in the face of continued supply disruptions from the Iran war.

Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed a 9.1 million barrel draw last week — much bigger than expectations for a 3.4 million barrel draw.

The API data usually heralds a similar print from official inventory data, which is due later on Wednesday.

U.S. inventories were seen being drawn down sharply in recent weeks, as the country ramped up its oil exports to offset overseas supply shocks from the Iran war.

Trump had ordered the release of 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to stem supply shocks from the Iran conflict.