(RTTNews) – Oil prices were sharply higher on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session as investors weighed the prospect of improved Saudi export flows against the potential for further supply disruptions.
Brent crude futures were up 2.4 percent at $105.51 a barrel after climbing around 4 percent to snap a five-day losing streak on Wednesday amid heightened uncertainty surrounding U.S.-Iran negotiations. WTI crude futures surged 1.8 percent to $93.81 a barrel.
After U.S. President Trump threatened to ‘annihilate’ Iran, Tehran said it is ‘ready for dialogue and diplomacy and negotiations without accepting the language of force.’
Delivering a defiant speech at the United Nations on Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned what he called “signs of a bullying mentality” from the U.S. and said that Iran would never surrender.
Earlier in the day, Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei said the Strait of Hormuz would not be reopened while Iran’s conditions are not met.
Amid the lack of tangible progress in U.S.-Iran talks, analysts have warned that persistent tanker attacks would keep volatility and the geopolitical risk premium elevated.
In a video released by Iran’s Fars news agency, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei has warned that Tehran may expand the Middle East war to the Indian Ocean and perhaps beyond, if the U.S. or Israel attacks again.
Elsewhere, two people were killed and 41 wounded in Kyiv as Russian drone attacks that began on Wednesday continued early into Thursday.
www.nasdaq.com