Oil Prices Fall Sharply in World Market on Positive Signs of Diplomacy, Down About 6 Percent in a Day
Crude oil prices have fallen sharply in the world market on positive signs of diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict between the United States and Iran. As the intense fear of disruption to fuel oil supplies worldwide from the Persian Gulf region eased somewhat, oil prices fell by about 6 percent in a single day on Monday.
According to data at 2 pm Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), Brent crude, the benchmark for crude oil in the international market, fell by $6.90 per barrel, or 6 percent, to $106.50.
Meanwhile, the price of US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell by $6.25 per barrel, or 6 percent, to stand at $97.87.
Iran's state news agency IRNA said the country's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has consented to the government's diplomatic negotiation efforts to end the ongoing conflict.
On Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi has visited Doha with the aim of conveying a message to Washington through Qatari mediators.
He said Tehran has directly linked the proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz with the condition of lifting the military and naval blockade imposed by the United States against Iran.
Meanwhile, US media outlet Axios says that in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump said he wants to give diplomatic solution efforts a little more time before taking a final decision on launching a fresh military attack on Iran.
Earlier, last Saturday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said President Trump is giving more priority to a diplomatic solution than to a bloody conflict and has not yet given any final order on taking fresh military action.
Meanwhile, amid such fluctuations in world oil prices, seven member countries of OPEC Plus, the alliance of oil exporting countries, sat in a meeting on Sunday. At the meeting, the countries decided to keep oil production unchanged at its previous level through December as well, without increasing it.
Through this, the decision to suspend the oil production increase that began in October has been extended for another month.
