Crude oil and refined product contracts were tumbling around midday Thursday, on track to finish sharply lower for a third consecutive day on expectations that the U.S. and Iran would soon resume talks to reach a cease-fire allowing Mideast petroleum supplies to flow again.
At 11:45 a.m. ET, June Nymex West Texas Intermediate crude contracts were down around $3.20/bbl to $91.75/bbl, and July WTI was $2.60 lower to $88.65/bbl.
London-based July ICE Brent was down by $3.35 to $97.95/bbl and August Brent was $2.65 lower to $94.40/bbl.
Refined product futures also tracked crude prices solidly lower. June Nymex RBOB was 8.15cts lower to $3.378/gal and July RBOB was down 7.25cts to $3.2415/gal. June ULSD was 7.95cts lower to $3.706/gal and July ULSD fell 8.7cts to $3.55/gal.
Petroleum futures turned sharply lower earlier this week on signs that Washington and Tehran were committed to restart talks for ending the Mideast conflict that started in late February, when U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Iran and the U.S. are working with mediators to formulate a one-page framework to restart negotiations aimed at ending the conflict and opening the Strait of Hormuz, with talks potentially beginning next week in Pakistan.
Despite the sharp three-day pullback, the oil benchmarks were still more than $20/bbl higher than their prices prior to the start of the conflict.
Oil consultant Ritterbusch and Associates in a Thursday note cautioned that the petroleum futures could be oversold as the market was pricing in a "quick and easy" U.S.-Iran peace agreement.
"We feel that this optimism is far removed from the real world in which the Strait is unlikely to be reopened before next month," Ritterbusch said.
Global physical supply of crude oil could take up to eight weeks to return to pre-conflict levels even after U.S. and Iran reach a deal allowing shipping traffic to resume through the strait, Rystad Energy said Wednesday.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
Reporting by Frank Tang, ftang@opisnet.com; Editing by Michael Kelly, mkelly@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 07, 2026 12:16 ET (16:16 GMT)
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