Oil prices extend losses as Hormuz traffic normalizes, ceasefire talks continue

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Oil prices fell to their lowest level since before the war on Wednesday, extending weekly losses. Brent crude was down 1.69% at $75.78 a barrel by 1:15 p.m. Abu Dhabi time, while West Texas Intermediate fell 1.60% to $72.04. The decline was driven by the normalization of tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, ongoing ceasefire negotiations and expectations that Iranian crude would return to global markets. Prices were also weighed down by the United States granting Tehran a 60-day sanctions waiver and by the easing of fighting in Lebanon. Tomomichi Akuta, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting, said the cooling of U.S.-Iran tensions and the resumption of oil shipments through the strait were dragging on prices. He added that further progress in nuclear talks could push prices back to pre-war levels. U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran had agreed to indefinite nuclear inspections, a claim Tehran denied.