futures traded higher on Thursday morning due to conflicting statements about the ceasefire proposal to end the war in West Asia.
At 9.28 am on Thursday, June Brent oil futures were at $98.54, up by 1.32 per cent, and May crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $91.76, up by 1.59 per cent.
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said: “Iranian leaders are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly, but they’re afraid to say it because they will be killed by their own people. They’re also afraid they’ll be killed by us.”
Speaking on state television, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the exchange of messages through mediators does not mean negotiations with the US. “They put forward ideas in their messages that were conveyed to top authorities, and if necessary, a position will be announced by them,” he said.
Earlier Iran had denied holding talks with the US, and it had set its own conditions that included sovereign control over the Strait of Hormuz.
A Reuters report, which quoted sources, said Israel was sceptical Iran would agree to the terms, and that Israel was concerned US negotiators might make concessions. Israel also wants any agreement to preserve its option to conduct pre-emptive strikes, the report said.
US inventories up
Meanwhile, petroleum status report by the US EIA (Energy Information Administration) for the week ending March 20 showed an increase in crude oil inventories in the US.
According to EIA, US commercial crude oil inventories increased by 6.9 million barrels for the week ending March 20. Total motor gasoline inventories decreased by 2.6 million barrels from last week, and distillate fuel inventories increased by 3 million barrels last week.
Total products supplied in the US over the last four-week period averaged 20.7 million barrels per day, up by 2.4 per cent from the same period last year.
US crude oil refinery inputs averaged 16.6 million barrels per day during the week ending March 20, which was 366,000 barrels per day more than the previous week’s average. Refineries operated at 92.9 per cent of their operable capacity last week.
US crude oil imports averaged 6.5 million barrels per day for the week ending March 20, a decrease of 730,000 barrels per day from the previous week. Over the past four weeks, US crude oil imports averaged about 6.6 million barrels per day, 15.5 per cent more than the same four-week period last year.