Brent oil futures were under 0.60% to $94.24 by 11:07 PM ET (4:07 AM GMT) and WTI futures dropped 0.80% to $92.91. Both Brent and WTI futures stayed past the $90 mark, however.
Claudio Galimberti, senior vice president at Rystad Energy, told Reuters that positive news from the U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations provides much-needed relief to global oil prices, as the chance of new crude supplies reduces the supply-demand deficit.
On Wednesday, France declared it was just days away from reviving Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and that it was now up to Iran to create the political choice. Nevertheless, Tehran appealed for Western powers to be “realistic.”
Build of barrels
Meantime, Wednesday’s U.S crude oil supply data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration revealed a build of 1.121 million barrels in the week to Feb. 11. Forecasts designed by Investing.com had expected a 1.572-million-barrel draw, while a 4.756-million-barrel-draw was recorded during the prior week.
Crude oil supply data from the American Petroleum Institute, published on Tuesday, showed a draw of 1.076 million barrels.
In recent weeks, investors have also been focusing on Russia’s threatening posture toward Ukraine, as problems that any supply disruptions from the primary producer in an already tight global market could push oil prices to $100 a barrel.