Crude oil futures traded lower on Friday morning after the US said there were ‘some encouraging signs’ of a possible deal with Iran.

At 9.08 am on Friday, July Brent oil futures were at $104.24, down by 0.66 per cent, and July crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $97.50, down by 0.51 per cent. June crude oil futures were trading at ₹9,406 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Friday against the previous close of ₹9,342, up by 0.69 per cent, and July futures were trading at ₹9,125 against the previous close of ₹9,042, up by 0.92 per cent.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Washington that there had been some progress in talks with Iran to end the war in West Asia.

Stating that US is dealing with ‘a system that itself is a little fractured’, he said: “There’s some ⁠good signs. I don’t want to be overly optimistic. So, let’s see ⁠what happens over the next few days.”

On the reports of Iran’s proposal to implement a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz, Rubio said: “No one in ⁠the world is in favour of the tolling system. It can’t happen. It would be unacceptable. It would make a diplomatic deal unfeasible if they were to continue to pursue that. So it’s a threat to the world if they were trying to ‌do ⁠that, and it’s completely illegal.”

Though there were reports that the US and Iran had reached a final draft for a peace deal to end the war in West Asia, neither the US nor Iran confirmed such a developments.

In their Commodities Feed for Friday, Warren Patterson, Head of Commodities Strategy of ING Think, and Ewa Manthey, Commodities Strategist, said markets are still searching for signs of progress in a potential deal between the US and Iran. While there are signs of optimism, uncertainty reigns. This is not the first time a deal seemed close, only for negotiations to break down.

“So, there’s a large segment of the market that will be more sceptical about the positive signals we are seeing. While Iran said that the gap between demands has narrowed, there’s still the issue of its uranium enrichment -- as well as the uranium stockpile it is sitting on,” they said, adding, the US wants this stockpile transferred out of the country.

The other issue is the management of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran is pushing for a formal toll system through the strait, a move that will face considerable pushback. Its implementation would set a risky precedent for the free flow of vessels through key chokepoints globally. Uncertainty over a potential deal is reflected in oil prices, with the market being whipsawed by headlines. However, ICE Brent still managed to settle 2.3 per cent lower on Thursday and below $103 a barrel, its lowest close since early May, they said.

Published on May 22, 2026