Oil prices fall more than 7% as Iran talks raise supply hopes

Brent crude futures settled at $104.77 a barrel on Monday, down 7.63%, Reuters reported. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate ended the day at $96.46, down 7.3%, according to NBC News.

Earlier in the day, ANP/Bloomberg had reported Brent at around $106, down about 6%, and US oil at just over $97, down more than 6%. The later figures show that the decline deepened during trading.

ANP/Bloomberg reported that Iran’s supreme leader had authorised the government to hold talks that could bring an end to the Middle East conflict. Reuters said Iranian negotiators had held days of talks with Qatari mediators aimed at ending the war.

The January Brent contract became the benchmark after the December contract expired on Friday. EnergyNow reported that January Brent had settled at $113.43 that day, warning that comparing Monday’s price with the expired contract would exaggerate the decline.

Despite Monday’s fall, Brent remained well above its level of around $60 a barrel at the start of the year, before the war, according to ANP/Bloomberg.