Oil prices ticked higher on Wednesday on concerns a breakdown in talks between Iran and the US for a final agreement to end their war may extend supply disruptions in the key Middle East producing region.
Brent futures rose 14 cents, or 0.19%, to $73.09 a barrel at 0644 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 11 cents, or 0.16%, to $69.61 a barrel, Reuters said.
"Hormuz continues to reopen but it's patchy, unpredictable, and not fully transparent,” said Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights.
"Unless there is a fresh understanding between Washington and Tehran, the market may wait and watch for sustained peace and quiet before crude resumes bearish momentum."
US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Doha for what the White House described as "high level" talks on Tuesday, but Iran and host Qatar said they would meet with mediators, rather than the Iranians themselves.
Qatar said Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani was among those to meet with Witkoff and Kushner. Brent fell by around $45 a barrel in the second quarter of this year, its largest quarterly loss since the global financial crisis in 2008. US crude futures meanwhile fell by around $31, their largest quarterly loss since 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic crushed global oil demand.
The declines followed progress toward ending the Middle East conflict, after sharp gains in March triggered by the outbreak in hostilities.
Analysts have cut their 2026 oil price forecasts for the first time since the Iran war began, after five straight monthly increases, as the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz eased concerns over prolonged supply disruptions, a Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.
US Vice President JD Vance said Iran would be prevented from charging tolls through the strait, telling The Michael Knowles Show, "This is not going to end in a place where the Iranians are collecting tolls on ships going through the Strait of Hormuz."
Tanker traffic through the critical waterway has started to recover, with Vance claiming that oil flows through the strait had been restored to pre-war levels.
Meanwhile, US crude oil inventories fell again last week while gasoline stocks also declined, market sources said, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute released on Tuesday.
Crude stocks fell by 6.1 million barrels in the week ended June 26, the sources said on condition of anonymity.
Official US oil stock data from the Energy Information Administration will be released at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT) on Wednesday.
