Oil Prices Slump As Traders Eye US-Iran Peace Talks

(RTTNews) - Oil prices tumbled on Monday as U.S.-Iran tension eased and OPEC+ approved an oil production increase of 188000 barrels per day for September 2026, completing the planned unwinding of a major round of supply cuts introduced in 2023.

Brent crude futures slumped 4.7 percent to $83.80 a barrel after surging over 20 percent in July. WTI crude futures were down 5.7 percent at $79.86.

U.S. President Donald Trump cancelled planned military strikes on Iran and said there is a 'good chance' of progress in talks aimed at ending months of fighting, helping ease supply disruption concerns.

Peace talks would resume today after Middle Eastern allies, including Saudi Arabia, urged Washington to prioritize diplomacy.

It is said that negotiators are trying to break the deadlock over transit fees and the management of the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said the planned large-scale strike on Iran was called off on the condition that efforts to quickly reach an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resolve the impasse over Tehran's nuclear capabilities move forward.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that the memorandum of understanding with the U.S. would become the cornerstone of Tehran's future foreign relations.

Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said negotiations between Tehran and Oman over the management of the Strait of Hormuz are in their final stages.

Meanwhile, during a virtual meeting on August 2, OPEC+, a collaboration between OPEC and other oil-producing nations, approved a production increase of 188,000 barrels per day for September to support oil market stability.

The decision was announced jointly by Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman, after reviewing global oil market conditions and the outlook.

Elsewhere, fighting continued in Gaza, where Israeli forces carried out fresh airstrikes for a second straight day on Sunday, killing at lease 18 Palestinians.