The crude oil prices have slipped in the early trading with both the benchmarks dropping more than 1%. The move came after Qatar said indirect talks between Iran and the US had made “positive progress” during negotiations in Doha.
Brent crude futures, and US West Texas Intermediate crude dropped more than 1%, settling at their lowest levels in four months.
Brent crude futures fell 80 cents, or 1.09%, to $70.80 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude declined 90 cents, or 1.28%, to $67.75 a barrel. In the previous session.
US President Donald Trump said progress had been made on Wednesday in indirect talks with Iran in Qatar.
Both the sides aimed to push forward their negotiations on ending the West Asia war and quell tensions following exchanges of fire.
Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, who was the head of the Iranian delegation, announced the talks’ conclusion, and reported that the participants had agreed “a communication channel would be established by tomorrow” to report and record violations of the parties’ initial MoU.
The understanding follows an escalation in the strategic waterway after Iran struck a vessel near Oman last week. The United States subsequently carried out strikes on Iranian missile and drone storage sites along the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil-sensitive companies spike:
The shares of companies related to the crude oil witnessed an uptick. CEAT, BPCL, HPCL, IOC and other crude-sensitive companies rose.
State-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) recorded significant uptick in the stock prices. BPCL advanced 2.4 percent, HPCL climbed 2.4 percent, and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) gained about 2 percent.
Further, the tyre companies also witnessed surge as CEAT emerged as one of the biggest gainers. Shares of CEAT spiked 4.4 percent, while JK Tyre & Industries rose over 3 percent and Apollo Tyres gained more than 2 percent.