Oil prices slip over planned US-Iran peace talks

Oil prices fell for a second day on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, on expectations ‌that peace talks between the United States and Iran may resume and supply will eventually be released from the key Middle East producing region trapped by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures were down 16 cents, or 0.2%, to $94.63 a barrel at 0635 GMT, after falling 4.6% in the previous session.

Also, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 70 ​cents, or 0.8%, to $90.58. The contract dropped 7.9% the session before.

The war has mostly shut the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for crude ​and refined product flows out of the Gulf to global buyers, particularly in Asia and Europe.

U.S. ⁠President Donald Trump said talks with Iran on ending the war could resume this week after ending over the weekend without ​any agreement.

The United States has also enacted a blockade of shipping leaving Iranian ports that its military said on Wednesday ​has completely halted trade going in and out of the country by sea.

US enforces military blockade, halts Iran’s maritime trade

Despite a two-week ceasefire, transit through the strait remains uncertain, with traffic at only a fraction of the 130 or so vessels that moved through the waterway before the war, sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

A senior market analyst at Phillip Nova, Priyanka Sachdeva, said: “The trajectory of oil prices will ​likely hinge less on battlefield developments and more on diplomatic momentum. Markets are increasingly reacting to headlines around negotiations rather ​than troop deployments.

“Each signal of renewed dialogue has been met with price declines, suggesting that ‌traders ⁠are systematically unwinding the ‘war premium’ embedded into crude earlier this month.”