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Iran announces it is ready to negotiate with the US

Tuesday, oil prices fell 1% after Iran said it would take all 'necessary measures' to reach a deal with the United States. This came following weeks of the U.S. increasing its military presence in the Middle East. Brent futures closed at $70.77 a barrel, down 72c or 1%. WTI futures fell 1% as well, closing at $65.63, a decrease of 68 cents.

Oman's Badr Albusaidi, the Foreign Minister of Oman, said that the U.S. and Iran will be holding a third round of talks in Geneva on Thursday. Iran is the third largest crude producer within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The U.S. has sent warships, aircraft carriers and jets into the region to pressure Iran to abandon its nuclear program. Iran denies it is developing an atomic bomb, and its deputy minister of foreign affairs said on Tuesday that Tehran was prepared to reach a settlement to reduce tensions between two countries.

Swiss bank UBS expects a modest drop in oil prices over the next few weeks, provided tensions do not escalate in the Middle East and disrupt supply. U.S. oil prices are subject to a geopolitical premium of $3-$4 per barrel due to tensions between Iran and the United States, according the Director of North Dakota Mineral Resources Department. North Dakota is the third-largest oil producing state in the United States. 3 U.S. oil-producing state. Energy executives say that the oil industry needs crude prices to increase and to sustain at $70 per barrel in order to grow production. A senior official announced on Monday that the U.S. State Department will be removing non-essential personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Beirut. This is due to growing concerns about the possibility of conflict between Iran and the United States. Iran, according to sources, has been close to signing a deal to buy anti-ship cruise-missiles with China.

U.S. TARIFFS AND OIL SUPPLIERS Meanwhile, the U.S. started collecting a temporary 10% global import duty on Tuesday. But President Donald Trump's Administration was working to raise it to 15%. This has caused confusion about tariff policies following last week's Supreme Court decision. Trading houses and buyers have chartered very large crude carriers for exports from Venezuela since the Caracas-Washington supply deal was initiated. According to data and sources, this will speed up the shipments in March as well as boost deliveries to India. According to EU officials, and according to a document viewed by, the European Commission is expected to'submit a proposal on April 15 to ban Russian oil imports permanently. This will be three days after Hungary held its parliamentary elections. Two sources familiar with this situation reported that the Russian oil pipeline monopoly, Transneft, has cut crude intake by around 250,000 barrels a day. This is a day after Ukrainian drones struck a pumping station for major oil hubs.

U.S. OIL Inventories

The U.S. crude stock rose, while gasoline and distillate decreased

inventories

According to sources citing the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday, crude oil prices fell last week. Crude'stocks increased by 11.43 millions barrels during the week ending February?20. This is much more than the 1.5million barrels analysts predicted energy firms would add to storage.

The Energy Information Administration will release official U.S. inventory reports on Wednesday. Reporting by Scott DiSavino in New York, Siddharth Cavale in London and Trixie Yap, Singapore, and Anushree Mukerjee, Bengaluru; additional reporting by Trixie YAP in Singapore, Alex Richardson, and David Gregorio.

(source: Reuters)