Oil Falls About 2% as Talks Resume Over Reopening Strait of Hormuz

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Oil prices fell by about 2% in Wednesday trading as Iran and Oman resumed talks on establishing a temporary maritime route through the Strait of Hormuz and clearing mines from the waterway. Brent crude dropped $1.78, or 2%, to $86.80 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate declined $1.49, or 1.8%, to $80.87. Both benchmarks had lost more than 3% in Tuesday’s session. Before the war began in February, the Strait of Hormuz carried about one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments. Prices were also pressured by preliminary data showing that US crude inventories rose by about 4.2 million barrels in the week ending August 21. Analysts had expected an increase of roughly 600,000 barrels.