DTN Oil Update

Barani Krishnan
DTN Refined Fuels Market Reporter

SECAUCUS, N.J. (DTN) -- Oil and refined product futures fell Tuesday as progress in U.S.-Iran talks lowered risks for the Middle East oil trade.

NYMEX WTI crude futures for March delivery settled down $0.42 at $62.33 bbl, while ICE Brent crude for April delivery finished down $1.22 at $67.42 bbl.

Refined products were little changed, with front-month ULSD futures slipping $0.0027 to settle at $2.3906 gallon. March RBOB futures climbed $0.0034 to finish at $1.9144 gallon.

Strength in the dollar added further weight to oil futures, making dollar-denominated crude more expensive for international buyers. The U.S. Dollar Index rose by 0.256 points to 97.075 against a basket of currencies.

Negotiators from Iran and the United States held indirect talks in Geneva on Tuesday regarding efforts by the Trump administration to persuade the Iranian government to halt its nuclear program. "We have reached understandings on the guiding principles, but the drafting and writing phase of the agreement will be more difficult," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said after the meeting.

The statement helped ease tensions that had built earlier on the Strait Hormuz following an Iranian naval exercise that briefly closed the waterway that serves a fifth of the world's seaborne oil trade.

Escalating geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran have propped up prices this year despite an overall bearish market outlook.