Oil prices fell during Thursday’s Asian trading as the United States downplayed the possibility of intervening in protests against Iran’s government.
Brent crude prices were down 2.9% to US$64.60 per barrel by 1:50 pm AEDT (2:50 am GMT). West Texas Intermediate dropped 3% to $60.18.
“We’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping. It’s stopped,” U.S. President Donald Trump said today. Trump previously wrote on social media that the U.S. was “locked and loaded and ready to go” if Iran’s government continued to kill protesters, and U.S. officials have been weighing options for airstrikes.
At least 2,615 people have been killed during 18 days of anti-government protests, including 2,435 protesters, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency nonprofit.
Iran abruptly closed its airspace to commercial flights today without explanation. It has reportedly told pilots that the closure will end at 7:30 am local time (3 pm AEDT, 4 am GMT).
The U.S. has begun selling the Venezuelan oil it has received, Semafor reported. Trump said last week that the U.S. would accept 30 to 50 million barrels of oil from Venezuela, and could control the country’s oil sales for years.
It has valued its first sale at $500 million, with the proceeds reportedly being held in bank accounts in Qatar controlled by U.S. officials.
U.S. oil inventories surged by roughly double estimates last week, the Energy Information Administration said. Its crude inventories were up 3.4 million barrels to 422.4 million, well above Reuters-polled analysts’ projected 1.7 million increase.
“The rapid increase in US oil production is coming to an end as investors prefer capital discipline over output growth, and a crude glut looms in 2026. Global crude oil supply is set to comfortably outpace demand in 2026, sending balances into surplus and weighing on prices,” BloombergNEF analysts wrote.
