(RTTNews) – Crude oil prices have inched lower on Wednesday after Pakistan announced initiating efforts to bring the U.S. and Iran back to the negotiating table. In addition, traders opted to book profits made from the recent trading sessions.
WTI Crude Oil for September month delivery was last seen trading down by $0.22 (or 0.26%) at $82.98 per barrel.
The impasse over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz continues.
After finalizing a deal with Oman over the management of shipping traffic across the Strait of Hormuz, Iran suddenly laid out a list of demands to the U.S.
Iran asserted that the reopening is subject to the U.S. fulfilling Iran’s preconditions. In particular, Iran wanted monetary compensation for all the damages caused due to the U.S.-Iran war.
Through Truth Social, U.S. President Donald Trump placed a counter-demand to Iran. Trump wanted Iran to compensate for the extensive loss of lives and property due to the several conflicts Iran had with various countries in the past five decades.
Trump also demanded Iran provide compensation for the civilians killed during the anti-government protests that was forcibly suppressed a few months ago in Iran. He also emphasized that henceforth this demand will be on the agenda in all U.S.-Iran talks.
With the gap between the U.S. and Iran widening, concerns over gulf oil supply increased, pushing oil prices higher.
Today, in a press conference, a spokesperson for Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry Tahir Andrabi stated that Pakistan is working to bring both the U.S. and Iran back to the negotiating table in addition to preventing efforts by “spoilers” intending to derail the process. Refraining from naming any nation or group, Andrabi stated that Pakistan will neutralize the spoilers.
Andrabi added that Pakistan is also engaged with other Muslim countries to resolve the crisis in the Middle East.
Yesterday, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Iran. Naqvi held talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to revive the stalled U.S.-Iran talks.
According to the International Energy Agency, the prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz is weighing heavily on consumption.
Calling for the strait’s early reopening, IEA Chief Fatih Birol wanted the shipping traffic to be free without any conditions.
Slashing its forecast for 2026, the IEA now expects global oil demand to fall by 1.6 million barrels per day. This cut is steeper than the 1.1-million-barrel reduction the agency predicted in July.
In its latest monthly oil market report, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries predicted global oil demand to grow by 600,000 barrels per day in 2026 year-on-year.
However, the report upwardly revised its forecast for 2027, expecting global oil demand to increase by nearly 2,200,000 bpd year-over-year against its previous forecast of 1,900,000 bpd.
OPEC’s output increased by roughly 1,420,000 bpd in July to average 37,660,000 bpd.
According to data from American Petroleum Institute, crude oil inventories in the U.S. increased by 9.07 million barrels for the week ending August 7, far exceeding expectations of a 500,000-barrel draw, following a 2,690,000-million-barrel increase in the previous week.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, for the week ending August 7, crude oil inventories increased by 17,420,000 barrels to 424,400,000 barrels.
For the same period, while gasoline inventories decreased by 968,000 barrels, distillate inventories edged down by 100,000 barrels, and heating oil inventories increased by 192,000 barrels.
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