Oil Prices Reverse Course as Traders Watch US-Iran Diplomacy

Crude oil prices, which had been falling since last week, today reversed course and made gains ahead of a UN General Assembly session that many hope will yield some progress on peace talks between the U.S. and Iran.As indicated by the latest oil price move, not everyone shares that hope, with Brent crude trading at 101.69 per barrel at the time of writing, and West Texas Intermediate at $93.38 per barrel.However, some observers see oil’s change of direction differently. “The move higher in WTI and the stronger open in Brent have the appearance of a typical short-covering bounce after the recent decline, rather than a fundamental shift,” KCM Trade chief market analyst Tim Waterer said, as quoted by Reuters. “Traders who were positioned for further downside are taking some risk off the table while the diplomatic narrative plays out,” he added.On the other hand, ING commodity analysts said in a note that oil traders remain generally bullish. In a note from Monday, they reported that speculative market players had ramped up their long positions on Brent by 16,904 in the week to September 15, to a total of 282,657, which was the highest since May this year. “The increase was driven largely by short covering as investors continue to price in greater upside risk from Middle East supply disruptions,” Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey noted.Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of the G7 group on Monday called on Iran to stop arming the Yemeni Houthis, who have recently stepped up their attacks on Saudi energy and civil infrastructure. “We condemn in the strongest terms the unacceptable continued strikes carried out by the Houthis in Yemen and against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the officials said in a statement. “We call on the Houthis to immediately cease all military actions, all threats and attacks against civilian shipping, and to return to the political process in good faith,” they also said, as quoted by Reuters.By Irina Slav for Oilprice.comMore Top Reads From Oilprice.comNorway's Arctic Oil Pitch Falls Flat in BrusselsTrafigura Launches Volare Shipping to Cash In on Record Tanker RatesIndia's Coal Demand Set to Jump 4.2% as Plant Stocks Hit Critical Lows