Oil prices turn lower as investors assess outlook for US-Iran peace talks
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BusinessInternationalOil prices turn lower as investors assess outlook for US-Iran peace talksBy Reuters -Apr 22, 2026Oil prices turned lower on Wednesday after rising about $1 at the start of trade in Asia, with investors assessing the outlook for US-Iran peace talks following the US extension of a ceasefire. Brent crude futures were down 21 cents, or 0.2%, at $98.27 a barrel at 0039 GMT, after touching $99.38 earlier in the session. West Texas Intermediate futures fell 28 cents, or 0.3%, to $89.39, after climbing as high as $90.71. Both benchmark contracts rose about 3% on Tuesday. US President Donald Trump said he would indefinitely extend the ceasefire with Iran, hours before its expiry, to allow talks to continue to end a war that has killed thousands and shaken the global economy. The move appeared unilateral, and it was not immediately clear whether Iran, or U.S. ally Israel, would agree to extend the truce, which began two weeks ago. “With the outcome of talks still unclear and the Strait of Hormuz closed, the market lacks clear direction,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief strategist of Nissan Securities Investment, a unit of Nissan Securities. “Unless fighting resumes, prices are likely to stay near the current levels for now,” Kikukawa said. Trump also said the US Navy would maintain its blockade of Iran’s ports and shore, which Iranian leaders have called an act of war. There was no immediate comment from Iran’s most senior leaders on Trump’s ceasefire extension. Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, said Iran had not asked for the extension and repeated its position of breaking the US blockade by force. Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which normally channels about 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, remained broadly halted on Tuesday with only three ships passing along the waterway in the past 24 hours, shipping data showed. Elsewhere, the Israeli military said Hezbollah fired rockets...
