Oil Rises as Iran Reports Further Qatar Mediation Talks

Brent crude rose to $106.99 a barrel Sept. 29 as supply-disruption concerns outweighed signs of recovering regional exports and Iran reported another mediation meeting with Qatar.

Brent crude futures for November delivery gained $1.71, or 1.6%, to $106.99 a barrel at 2:26 a.m. ET (6:26 UTC). West Texas Intermediate crude was about $94 a barrel, up 1.5%.

Monday’s Sept. 28 settlements were $105.28 for Brent and $92.60 for WTI. Preliminary estimates showed major Middle Eastern producers shipping 12.8 million barrels of crude per day in September, a seven-month high.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iranian and Qatari representatives met in New York on Monday, Sept. 28, to discuss proposals intended to meet Iran’s conditions.

“We met with Qatari mediators again on Monday (September 28) to hold discussions,” Araghchi said.

Araghchi said Iran’s seven-point proposal had been delivered to the United States through Qatar. Qatar would present the ideas to Washington and relay its response to Tehran.

The discussions center on Iran’s conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime route in the dispute involving Iran, the United States and regional states. The latest developments follow earlier indirect talks between the United States and Iran as markets track potential effects on energy supplies and shipping conditions.