Oil Futures Fall as Trump Signals Iran De-Escalation

At 11:20 a.m. ET, January ICE Brent was down 95 cents at $91.62 a barrel, while February Brent fell 94 cents to $89.58. December West Texas Intermediate lost 38 cents to $86.47, and January WTI was 35 cents lower at $85.34. Brent briefly slipped below $90 earlier Tuesday, its first time under that level since late August. The benchmark lost nearly 6% on Monday.

Refined products also declined. December ultra-low-sulfur diesel fell 10.08 cents to $4.114 a gallon, and January ULSD dropped 9.15 cents to $4.0198. December RBOB gasoline was down 2.89 cents at $2.622 a gallon; January RBOB fell 2.53 cents to $2.583.

Trump made his remarks Monday after meeting Qatar’s prime minister, who has mediated between Washington and Tehran. In a later social media post, Trump pointed to positive momentum toward ending the conflict. The comments came after last week’s U.S. midterm elections, which also contributed to expectations of de-escalation. The two governments have yet to agree on ending the conflict or fully restoring normal shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, although oil flows through the waterway have recovered substantially.

Lower crude prices have coincided with a decline in U.S. gasoline costs. AAA data put the national average for regular gasoline at about $3.98 a gallon Tuesday, below $4 for the first time since July and down from $4.15 a week earlier. The average remains above the year-ago price of $3.07.

Separately, Kpler data showed a tanker carrying Russian diesel nearly stationary off the U.S. East Coast, with no confirmed discharge destination. The Malta-flagged Agioi Fanendes loaded about 40,000 metric tons of ULSD at Russia’s Primorsk port in late October. It had previously listed New York as its destination but missed its estimated Nov. 7 arrival, Kpler analysts said.