By Boluwatife Oshadiya | October 29, 2026
Key Points
- Brent crude futures for January delivery fall about 1% to $110.54 a barrel as reports of renewed US-Iran diplomacy ease supply concerns
- US commercial crude inventories decline by 1.9 million barrels to 410.6 million barrels in the week ended October 23, contrary to market expectations
- Seven OPEC+ members are scheduled to meet on Sunday to review oil market conditions, according to OPEC
Main Story
Global oil prices fell on Thursday as diplomatic efforts to restart negotiations between the United States and Iran eased concerns about potential disruptions to Middle East oil supplies.
Brent crude futures for January delivery declined about 1% to $110.54 a barrel from $111.64, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for December delivery fell 1.13% to $101.62 from $102.78.
Qatar-led mediators are working to bring Washington and Tehran back to negotiations, Axios reported, citing US and Israeli officials. The reported initiative aims to prevent fighting from resuming after the US midterm elections.
Qatar is also seeking to persuade Iran to allow United Nations inspectors to visit bombed nuclear facilities in exchange for relief from some US sanctions, according to the report.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reportedly said Tehran would continue pursuing diplomacy and maintain contact with mediators. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump denied assigning Vice President JD Vance to restart negotiations, following a Wall Street Journal report that Vance had sent Iran a letter seeking to revive peace talks.
Unexpectedly lower US crude inventories helped limit the decline in oil prices. The US Energy Information Administration reported that commercial crude stocks fell by approximately 1.9 million barrels to 410.6 million barrels in the week ended October 23, against market expectations for an increase of about 100,000 barrels.
The report also showed gasoline inventories rising by approximately 3.9 million barrels to 209.2 million barrels. US crude production increased by 723,000 barrels per day to about 13.99 million barrels per day over the same week.
What’s Being Said
The supplied report attributes to Araghchi a willingness to continue diplomatic engagement and says Iranian officials are considering proposals for a seven-day plan. However, it does not provide his exact words as a direct quotation.
Trump denied assigning Vance to restart negotiations with Iran. The supplied material does not include a verbatim statement from Trump or an independent analyst’s assessment of the price movements.
What’s Next
- Sunday, November 1: Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman are scheduled to meet to review oil market conditions, according to OPEC.
- US-Iran diplomatic efforts: Any confirmed progress towards negotiations or changes in sanctions could affect market assessments of regional supply risks.
- Next US inventory report: Traders will look for updated EIA data to assess whether the recent decline in crude stocks continues; the next release date was not provided in the supplied material.
The Bottom Line: Oil prices are responding to a balance between reduced fears of renewed US-Iran conflict and evidence of tighter US crude inventories. The next direction will depend partly on whether diplomatic efforts produce concrete progress and whether supply data reinforce or weaken expectations about market availability.
