Mar 24, 2022 04:10AM ET
By: AnalysisWatch
Crude oil prices sank in some volatile trading on Thursday as investors evaluated the possibility of fresh supply in tight markets amid hopes of a new Iran deal.
Brent futures fell 15 cents, or 0.12 percent, to $121.45 a barrel after dropping more than $1 earlier.
US West Texas Intermediate futures fell 75 cents, or 0.65%, to $114.18 a barrel at 0729 GMT, after losing more than $2 earlier.
In morning trading, the contracts had gained $2 and $1, respectively.
But White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Wednesday that the United States and its allies have made progress in nuclear talks with Iran but that questions remain.
The note added that Iran was already preparing for a surge in exports and that state refiner NIOC had reportedly begun reaching out to former major customers in India and South Korea.
Oil markets leaped more than 5% on Wednesday following reports that crude exports from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal in Kazakhstan had been completely stopped due to a storm hit. The Russian deputy prime minister said oil supplies could be interrupted for two months.
US President Biden is meeting with NATO allies on Thursday and is likely to make an announcement of extra sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special operation."
Meanwhile, inventories in the United States fell by 2.5 million barrels last week, while stocks in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by 4.2 million barrels, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Market participants had expected a small increase in inventories.
US oil production was unchanged at 11.6 million barrels per day, according to the EIA data.
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