Oil prices dipped Friday as markets weighed US-Iran talks on a possible path out of war against Saudi reports of thwarted Houthi missile attacks. Brent fell 0.69% to $105.85 a barrel and WTI fell 0.86% to $93.80 at 0032 GMT.
US and Iranian negotiators in New York are exploring a phased path out of the war, sources close to the talks said. It would involve Tehran reopening the Strait of Hormuz and Washington lifting its economic blockade of Iran. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the US must decide whether to end the war.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said six ballistic missiles fired by Iran-backed Houthis were intercepted, thwarting attacks on Taif province and the Yanbu area. Both benchmarks had risen as much as 5% on Thursday, with Brent settling 3.4% higher and WTI up 2.7%. Since the war began at the end of February, around a fifth of global oil and gas shipments have been curtailed. Saudi Arabia is building up crude pumping through its East-West Pipeline to Yanbu, but tanker loadings have yet to resume, according to industry sources, satellite imagery and shipping data.
