By Adedapo Adesanya
Prices of oil futures declined on Wednesday, settling at their lowest in about a week following reports that President Donald Trump is considering easing sanctions on Iran.
This in turn raised the possibility of the return of the country’s crude to the world market.
Brent Crude dropped from $62 losing $1.34 or 2.15 percent to trade at $61.04, while the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude performed worse as it went down to $55.97 after losing $1.43 equal to 2.49 percent.
Trump discussed easing sanctions on Iran in a move to secure a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani later this month, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The move comes a day after Trump announced that U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton, who had argued to push Iranian oil exports to zero, stepped down.
A weaker demand outlook from Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Wednesday also fed the price decline, despite U.S. government data showing a fourth straight weekly fall in domestic crude supplies.
OPEC on Wednesday lowered its forecast for global oil-demand growth in 2019 and 2020, citing weaker-than-expected data in the first half of this year from various global demand centers and slower economic growth projections.
Also on Wednesday, the Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. crude supplies fell by 6.9 million barrels for the week ended Sept. 6. That marked a fourth weekly decline in a row.
Dipo Olowookere