HOUSTON: Oil prices settled down around 4% on Thursday ending a five-day streak of gains after US President Donald Trump said the crackdown on protesters in Iran was easing, allaying concerns over potential military action against Iran and oil supply disruptions.
Brent futures settled down US$2.76 or 4.15%, at US$63.76 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude fell US$2.83, or 4.56%, to US$59.19.
Both contracts had risen to multi-month highs over the last few sessions.
Trump said he had been told that killings during Iran’s crackdown on protests were easing and he believed there was no current plan for large-scale executions, adopting a wait-and-see posture after earlier threatening intervention.
The comments reduced the risk premium that had built up in recent days, analysts said. On Wednesday, Brent reached a high of $66.82, its highest since September.
"We went from a high likelihood that Trump was going to hit Iran to a low likelihood, and that is the bulk of the downward pressure today on prices," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst with Price Futures Group.
The US is withdrawing some personnel from military bases in the Middle East, a US official said on Wednesday, after a senior Iranian official said Tehran had told neighbours it would hit American bases if Washington strikes.
Further weighing on prices, US crude and gasoline inventories rose last week by more than analysts had estimated, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, Venezuela has begun reversing oil production cuts made under a US embargo, with crude exports also resuming, three sources said.
Analysts pointed to further bearish market sentiment following a positive phone call between Trump and Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez on Wednesday, with expectations of stability in the short term leading to more oil leaving Venezuela in the coming weeks.
"That will keep prices anchored," Flynn said.
On the demand side, Opec said on Wednesday that 2027 oil demand was likely to rise at a similar pace to this year and published data indicating a near balance between supply and demand in 2026, contrasting with other forecasts of a glut.
China's crude oil imports in December rose 17% from a year earlier, while total imports in 2025 were up 4.4%, government data showed, with daily crude import volumes hitting record highs. — Reuters
