Brent crude prices slide as Trump delays Iran strike decision; weekly gains likely

Investing.com--Brent crude oil prices fell sharply Friday, giving back some recent gains after the White House signaled that U.S. President Donald Trump will delay a decision on entering the Iran-Israel war for two weeks.

At 07:50 ET (11:50 GMT), Brent oil futures fell 3.7% to $75.96 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures, which did not settle on Thursday due to a U.S. holiday, dropped 0.9% to $72.86 a barrel.

Crude prices were still sitting on a third straight week of gains, as few signs of deescalation in the Middle Eastern conflict kept traders on edge over potential supply disruptions.

Trump to decide on Iran strike in two weeks

The White House said that Trump will decide on whether to attack Iran within two weeks, with the president still seeing some possibility of nuclear talks with Tehran.

The White House’s statement helped end some uncertainty over whether a U.S. strike against Iran was imminent, especially after a slew of reports showed U.S. officials preparing for such a scenario.

U.S. involvement in the conflict would have marked a major escalation, with Iran having repeatedly warned against such a scenario. Nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran collapsed last week after Israel attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities, with the conflict now entering an eighth day on Friday. 

Focus is largely on whether Israel will launch more strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities, specifically Fordow, the country’s biggest enrichment facility. 

Oil heads for third week of gains

Both benchmarks were trading up around 2% higher this week, and were headed for their third straight week of gains.

Oil prices had surged nearly 12% last week, with a bulk of gains coming after Israel’s attack on Iran on Friday. 

Crude was largely underpinned by concerns that oil supplies from Iran, which is the third-largest oil-producing member of OPEC, will be disrupted by the war with Israel. 

Iran could also face more U.S. sanctions on its oil exports due to the conflict. 

In addition to the war, oil was also buoyed by data showing a sharp, over 10 million barrel drawdown in U.S. inventories.

Demand in the world’s biggest fuel consumer is expected to pick up with the travel-heavy summer season.

Ambar Warrick contributed to this article