WTI slumps below $66.00 amid hopes for US-Iran talks

• WTI price falls to near $65.70 in Monday’s early European session. 
• The US and Iran are organizing a third cycle of nuclear negotiations later on Thursday. 
• Trump said he would raise tariffs on US imports from all nations from 10% to 15%. 

West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $65.70 during the early European trading hours on Monday. The WTI price declines as the United States (US)-Iran talks are set to resume later this week. Traders also brace for the release of the American Petroleum Institute (API) report, which will be released later on Tuesday.

The report that the US and Iran will hold their next round of negotiations in Geneva on Thursday provides some support to the black gold. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that there is a “good chance to have a diplomatic solution that is based on a win-win game, and a solution is within our reach.”

However, any signs of escalating tensions between the two countries could raise concerns over supply disruption and lift the WTI price. US President Donald Trump said last week that “bad things” would happen to Iran if there was no deal to end the Islamic Republic’s development of nuclear weapons.

Trump’s tariff hike triggers fears of weaker oil demand, which might drag the WTI price lower. The US Supreme Court’s ruling, which declared Trump’s sweeping tariffs illegal, has injected uncertainty into global trade yet again, as the US President imposed a new 15% tariff on Saturday. Trump noted in a Truth Social post that the fresh levies would be “effective immediately” and warned that additional tariffs would follow.