The price of Brent crude oil decreased by 20 cents, equivalent to 0.3%, to 77 dollars and 70 cents per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate crude oil decreased by 12 cents, equivalent to 0.2%, to 73 dollars and 74 cents per barrel.
Prices fell more than 3 percent on Monday after the U.S. granted Iran a 60-day waiver on sanctions after preliminary talks and officials reported an easing of hostilities in Lebanon under a broader accord.
“The gradual increase in the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz continues to affect the market,” ING financial company analysts said in a note.
Two tankers carrying just under 2 million barrels of oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, ship tracking data showed, indicating traffic is picking up after a weaker flow on Sunday.
“There is still a lot of uncertainty in the market, rooted in deep mistrust between Washington and Tehran, suggesting that any return to pre-war oil prices is likely to be delayed rather than immediate,” said Tim Waters, senior market analyst at KCM Trade.
Separately, analysts in a Reuters poll forecast U.S. crude stockpiles fell last week, along with distillates and gasoline inventories.
U.S. crude stockpiles in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell to 331.2 million barrels last week, the lowest level since June 1983, government data showed on Monday, according to Reuters, reflecting an unprecedented withdrawal from the stockpiles following the imposed war on Iran.
