Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday morning after reports emerged that Iran would not hold direct talks with US envoys in Doha, raising fresh doubts about the durability of the ceasefire that has held since the two countries agreed to pause their four-month conflict.
Brent crude futures rose 50 cents, or 0.69%, to $73.45 a barrel at 12:08 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate gained 63 cents, or 0.91%, to $70.13 a barrel.
Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Doha on Tuesday for what the White House described as “high-level” talks. Iran and host nation Qatar both said the parties would meet with mediators rather than with Iranian officials directly. Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was among those who met with Witkoff and Kushner, Doha said.
The diplomatic deadlock comes after a bruising stretch for oil markets. Brent fell roughly $45 a barrel between the first and second quarters of this year, its steepest quarterly loss since the 2008 global financial crisis. US crude futures dropped around $31 over the same period, the largest quarterly decline since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic collapsed global demand.
Those losses came as progress toward ending the Middle East conflict unwound the sharp price gains that had accompanied the fighting. A Reuters poll published Tuesday showed analysts cut their 2026 oil price forecasts for the first time since the war with Iran began, following five consecutive monthly upward revisions. The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz has eased fears of prolonged supply disruptions.
US Vice President JD Vance said Iran would not be permitted to collect transit fees from vessels passing through the strait. “It’s not going to end up with the Iranians collecting tolls from ships that go through the Strait of Hormuz,” he said in a television interview. Tanker traffic through the waterway has begun to recover, with Vance saying oil flows have returned to pre-war levels, though he gave no specific figures.
US crude inventories fell by 6.1 million barrels in the week ending 26 June, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute data. Gasoline stocks also declined. Markets are awaiting official inventory figures from the US Energy Information Administration later on Wednesday.
