Oil little changed on scepticism US-Iran peace talks will ease Hormuz disruption

Oil prices were little changed on Thursday, reversing earlier declines, on scepticism that peace talks between the US and Iran will reach a deal to end the war that has bottled up oil output from the key Middle East producing region. Brent crude futures were up 9 cents to $95.02 a barrel at 0427 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 44 cents to $91.73 a barrel. Both benchmarks settled little changed on Wednesday but traded in a wide range. The US-Israeli war with Iran has resulted in the largest-ever disruption of global oil and gas supplies due to Iran’s interruption of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which typically carries about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows. “While there are hopes for de-escalation, many investors remain sceptical, given that US-Iran talks have repeatedly broken down even after appearing to make progress,” said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities.