Oil holds above $73 on Iran-US talks setback

July 01, 2026 (MLN): Oil prices climbed on Wednesday as fears grew that a breakdown in talks between Iran and the United States over a final agreement to end their war could prolong supply disruptions from the key Middle East producing region.

Currently, Brent crude futures is steady at $73.22 per barrel, according to data by Mettis Global.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures is down by $0.2, or 0.29%, to $69.74 per barrel by [09:42 am] PST.

Jared Kushner, son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Doha on Tuesday for what the White House termed "high level" discussions, though Iran and host Qatar indicated the Iranian side would engage with mediators rather than meet directly with the American delegation, according to CNBC.

Qatar said Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani was among the officials who held talks with Witkoff and Kushner.

The latest uptick comes after Brent shed around $45 a barrel between the first and second quarters of the year, marking its steepest quarterly decline since the 2008 financial crisis, while WTI dropped nearly $31 over the same period in its largest quarterly slide since the pandemic-driven collapse of 2020.

Those losses had followed signs of easing tensions in the Middle East conflict, reversing the sharp rally the hostilities had earlier triggered.

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