TOKYO: Oil prices fell nearly 5% in early Asian trading on Monday, with Brent at USD 83.81 and WTI at USD 80.72 after President Donald Trump announced renewed US-Iran talks.
At 2250 GMT Sunday, or 3:50 a.m. Pakistan Standard Time, Monday, September 1- Brent crude had dropped 4.69%, according to AFP market data.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the United States benchmark, fell 4.67% during the same market snapshot.
Trump said Sunday that negotiations with Iran would begin Monday afternoon after he suspended planned US strikes. He did not identify the venue or participants.
The talks were expected to address the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear programme.
Read: OPEC+ Oil Quotas Rise 188,000 Bpd for September
The conflict began on Feb. 28 when the United States and Israel attacked Iran. Fighting and shipping restrictions have disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, causing sharp swings in energy prices.
Before the conflict, the waterway accounted for about 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran was close to an understanding with Oman on a new shipping route through the strait. He said the proposal did not amount to reopening the waterway.
