Brent crude snapped a five-session losing streak on Wednesday after Iran's president pushed back against President Trump's UN rhetoric, clouding hopes for a quick U.S.-Iran deal. Diesel prices also hit a record as lawmakers pressed for an export ban, while U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly rose.
Brent crude oil halted a five-session losing streak on Wednesday, surging more than $4 a barrel after hopes of a swift U.S.-Iran diplomatic breakthrough took a hit. The reversal came a day after diplomatic optimism had pushed Brent below $100 a barrel for the first time in over two weeks.
At 16:56 ET, Brent crude futures expiring in November jumped 4.2% to $103.37 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for November advanced 2.4% to $92.71 a barrel.
Iran defiant at the UN after Trump's harsh rhetoric
A day after President Trump threatened at the UN General Assembly to "annihilate" Iran or make a deal, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian hit back, saying, according to Investing.com: "We have only defended ourselves, we are not terrorists." Pezeshkian also said Iran would never back down, while insisting Tehran remained open to dialogue.
Yet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio complicated the picture, declining to call the talks a "major breakthrough" and instead describing them as a "continuation of conversations". Reuters had reported that Iran was reviewing a U.S. response to its proposal to end hostilities, with indirect UN talks touching on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting the American naval blockade.
Prices had also been pressured by Saudi Arabia's efforts to offset a pipeline outage tied to the Houthi conflict, after Saudi Arabia restarted the damaged East-West Pipeline and could resume exports from Yanbu.
White House denies diesel export ban report
Diesel prices remained a separate flashpoint, with the national U.S. average hitting a record $6.5276 a gallon on Tuesday. Republican lawmakers from Iowa, backed by Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have pushed for a ban on diesel exports. However, after Politico reported Washington was weighing a 90-day export ban, a White House official told Reuters the report was inaccurate.
Crude inventories unexpectedly rise
At home, U.S. commercial crude inventories excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve rose 3 million barrels to 426.4 million barrels in the week of September 18, defying expectations of a 700,000-barrel decline and snapping a three-week streak of draws. Total inventories including the SPR climbed 2.6 million barrels to 711 million barrels, after five straight weeks of declines.
Source: Commodities & Futures News
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
