The crude oil market was down on Tuesday due to uncertainty in US-Iran negotiations and Russia-Ukraine peace talks, with Brent futures losing 16 cents or 0.2 per cent to settle at $65.38 per barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures sliding by 13 cents or 0.2 per cent to $62.56 per barrel.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mr Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said US demands that it stop enriching uranium are “excessive and outrageous,” leading to doubts whether talks on a new nuclear deal will succeed.

Iran is the third-largest producer among the members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) behind Saudi Arabi and Iraq.

A deal between Iran and the US would allow Iran to raise oil exports by 300,000 to 400,000 barrels per day if sanctions were eased.

The European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom announced new sanctions against Russia without waiting for the US to join them.

This development came a day after US President Donald Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin without winning a promise for a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Ukraine wants the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies to reduce their price cap on Russian seaborne oil to $30 per barrel. The current G7 cap, imposed over Russia’s war in Ukraine, is $60.

Market analysts believe that the war wouldn’t end soon, but believe that more negotiations will take place.

If a deal is reached, it could allow Russia, a member of OPEC and its allies known as OPEC+, to export more oil to the world.

Meanwhile new government data delivered a cautious outlook for top crude-importer China’s economy.

Data showed decelerating industrial output growth and retail sales in China piled more pressure on oil prices.

US crude oil stocks rose last week while gasoline (petrol) and distillate inventories fell, according to the American Petroleum Institute (API) figures on Tuesday.

Crude stocks in the US, the world’s biggest oil consumer, rose by 2.5 million barrels in the week ended May 16, the sources said on condition of anonymity.

Investors are also looking ahead to government US oil stock data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) later on Wednesday.

Also, Kazakhstan’s oil production rose by 2 per cent in May, an increase that defies pressure from OPEC+ on the country to reduce its output.

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