ERBIL () — Oil prices fell on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump said American and Iranian representatives had held “very good” and “very productive” talks at the United Nations, raising hopes that diplomacy could ease tensions surrounding the Middle East war and reduce pressure on global energy markets.
International benchmark Brent crude fell 0.9 percent to $98.41 per barrel, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped 1.4 percent to $89.23 in afternoon Asian trading, according to AFP.
Both benchmarks remained below the symbolic $100 level, which has been repeatedly breached since the Middle East war began in February.
Trump told reporters that the three-hour US-Iran meeting had been “very good” and “very productive,” adding that another meeting was scheduled for the “very near future.”
His comments came only hours after he delivered a strongly worded address to the UN General Assembly, saying he faced a “big decision” over whether to reach an agreement with Iran or “annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly.”
The latest diplomatic signals come nearly seven months after US-Israeli strikes triggered the war. The conflict has disrupted energy markets, with Iran keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed while the United States maintains a counter-blockade of Iranian ports.
The confrontation has also affected the wider region, as fighting between Saudi-backed government forces and the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen has extended the security crisis around Saudi Arabia and placed additional pressure on energy exports through the Red Sea.
“The three-hour US-Iran meeting matters because it shifts the market from pure escalation pricing toward a genuine diplomatic process, even if a final deal still looks distant,” Stephen Innes of Quintex Intel said.
Trump has previously pledged that oil prices would fall “as soon as” the United States wins the war.
The decline in crude prices also came as Saudi Arabia reportedly restarted operations along its East-West Pipeline, a major oil export route that was shut down following drone attacks.
Saudi Arabia is seeking to resume exports through the route later this week, Bloomberg reported, citing a source.
Saudi oil giant Aramco has reportedly informed some Asian refiners that they could soon receive crude from the Red Sea port of Yanbu. However, the company told European counterparts that they would not be allocated Saudi crude for October, according to Bloomberg.
The developments in the oil market came amid mixed trading across Asian markets, with investors also monitoring developments in the global technology sector and US-China relations.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1 percent, while Shanghai’s Composite Index closed 0.4 percent lower. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.9 percent and Taiwan’s Taiex rose 0.8 percent.
Chinese technology giant Alibaba announced plans to expand its overseas data-center operations across markets in Europe and the Middle East, as investor interest in artificial intelligence continues to drive activity in the technology sector.
The announcement followed new AI model releases by Anthropic and OpenAI, which unveiled cheaper models within hours of each other earlier this week.
European markets opened higher, while traders also looked ahead to a Thursday summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, where trade relations between the world’s two largest economies are expected to be a major focus.
The US and China have maintained a tariff truce for nearly a year but have yet to reach a lasting trade agreement.
However, analysts said the Middle East conflict remains a more significant factor for energy markets.
“The higher impact issue will be the war in the Middle East and any support the US can extract from China to use its leverage to sway the Iranians,” Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com, said.
The oil market is likely to remain sensitive to developments in US-Iran diplomacy, the security of the Strait of Hormuz and the restoration of Saudi Arabia’s disrupted export routes.
