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Updated - April 17, 2026 at 06:57 AM.

Oil prices fell in early trade on Friday on optimism ​the Middle East conflict could be nearing an ‌end after a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon ​and Israel took effect and President ⁠Donald Trump said the U.S. and Iran may meet for talks on the weekend.

Brent crude futures declined by $1.34, ‌or 1.35%, to $98.05 a barrel at 0021 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures ‌fell $1.65, or 1.74%, to $93.40 a barrel, trimming ‌gains ⁠from the previous session.

Addressing a key ⁠sticking point in talks to end the Iran war, which has closed the Strait of Hormuz for seven ​weeks and choked off roughly ‌one-fifth of the world’s oil supply, Trump said Tehran had offered not to possess nuclear weapons for more than 20 years.

“We’re going ‌to see what happens. But I think ​we’re very close to making a deal with Iran,” Trump told reporters ⁠outside the White House on Thursday.

Oil prices climbed 50% in March in a record run and ‌have only recently fallen below the $100 per barrel mark but have stayed within the $90 range for the week.

Israel’s campaign in Lebanon has been a major obstacle to securing a peace deal sought by Trump to end the war ‌on Iran he launched with Israel in late February.

U.S. ​and Iranian negotiators have scaled back their expectations for a comprehensive peace deal ⁠and are instead seeking a temporary memorandum to prevent ⁠a return to conflict, two Iranian sources told Reuters on Thursday.

Analysts from ING estimate ‌that roughly 13 million barrels per day of oil flow has been disrupted by ​the closure of the Strait.

Published on April 17, 2026

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