Oil slides below $100 for first time in two weeks as Trump reports "productive" Iran talks

Brent crude fell below $100 a barrel for the first time since September 8, sliding on hopes of a diplomatic solution to the US-Iran war and signs of improved Gulf supply.

Brent futures fell 7 cents, or 0.07 per cent, to $99.18 a barrel as of 0119 GMT on Wednesday, while US West Texas Intermediate futures fell 35 cents, or 0.39 per cent, to $90.17, Reuters reported.

The move followed Donald Trump’s remarks on Tuesday that his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had held “productive talks” with mediators of Iran to end the war. “I think there’s a lot of momentum for them to make a deal,” Trump said — even as he warned he could “annihilate” Iran.

Supply also improved: Saudi Arabia restarted operations on its East-West Pipeline to the Red Sea on Tuesday, three sources briefed on the matter said. Drone attacks, which Riyadh blamed on Iraqi militia, had forced the pipeline’s shutdown on September 11, halting crude loadings at the kingdom’s Yanbu port. The pipeline is being used to reroute about 4 million barrels a day — roughly 4 per cent of global supply — around disrupted flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

“The market is currently feeling more constructive about the global oil supply picture than it was a few weeks ago,” Tim Waterer, chief analyst at KCM Trade, told Reuters.

Sources

• Reuters (Helen Clark, Perth, 23 Sept 2026): “Oil falls on increased Gulf supply and hopes for US-Iran talks”
• Euronews (23 Sept 2026): oil below $100 after Trump reports Iran talks