Oil Retreats After Surge Sparked By US-Iran Nuclear Deal Standoff

Oil prices slipped on Thursday after rising more than 4% in the previous session, amid growing concerns over a conflict with Iran.

Brent crude futures were down 0.4% at $69.47 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.3% at $67.94 per barrel at about 12:07 am ET.

According to a New York Times report, the military will also allow military family members to depart from the Middle East voluntarily, along with the diplomats.

The Trump administration indicated that the talks over a nuclear deal with Tehran were not progressing as planned.

On a podcast released on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he was “less confident” about agreeing to a deal with Iran that aims to ensure that Tehran does not develop nuclear weapons of its own.

Israel has reportedly told the U.S. that it is prepared to attack Iran if negotiations collapse. Trump had asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to escalate tensions amid US-Iran talks.

“America will have to leave the region because all its military bases are within our reach and we will, without any consideration, target them in the host countries,” Iran’s defense minister, Aziz Nasirzadeh, reportedly said.

Iraq and Iran roughly pump about 8% of the world’s total crude oil output.

Meanwhile, optimism also rose around a trade deal between the U.S. and China, brightening the demand outlook in the world’s two largest economies.

Separately, Trump said his administration will send letters to trading partners in the next one to two weeks, setting unilateral tariff rates ahead of a July 9 deadline.

The United States Oil Fund LP (USO) was up 1%, while the ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil (UCO) rose 1.9% in extended trading.

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