The US and Iran said on 7 April that they would halt hostilities for a two-week period to finalize a peace deal, but their public statements differ on the status of navigation through the strait of Hormuz.
Trump said late on Tuesday that he would delay a planned massive attack against Iran's civilian and energy sites by two weeks if Iran agrees to allow free transit through the strait of Hormuz.
Trump cited Pakistan's mediation and said that "subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks".
Iran's supreme national security council confirmed the ceasefire agreement but described the peace proposal under discussion as enshrining "continued Iranian control over the strait of Hormuz", according to Iran's Tasnim news agency, which is linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Meanwhile, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts the US light sweet crude benchmark will average more than $100/bl in the second quarter this year even if the US-Israel war on Iran is resolved in April.
WTI at Cushing, Oklahoma, is expected to average $101.63/bl across April-June, the agency said in its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), up from $84.56/bl in its March forecast.
Global benchmark Brent is to average $114.60/bl across the same three-month period, up from $90.56/bl.
The EIA estimates 7.5mn b/d of crude production from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar and Bahrain was shut in in March with the de facto closure of the strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran continues. The EIA expects outages to climb to 9.1mn b/d in April.
Elsewhere, crude exports from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal in the Black Sea have been suspended until at least 10 April, as the port undergoes planned maintenance, market sources said.
Loadings will be suspended for around 72 hours beginning 7 April, to allow for the installation of a new single-point mooring (SPM), they said. This was not directly confirmed and operator Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) declined to comment.
Ice Brent futures dropped by 13pc in early Asian trading today following announcements from US president Donald Trump and Iran of a ceasefire.
The Ice front-month June Brent contract was at $94.57/bl at 04:00 GMT, down by $14.70/bl from its settlement on 7 April, when it ended 50¢/bl lower.
The Nymex front-month May crude contract was at $96.34/bl, lower by $16.61/bl from its settlement on 7 April, when it ended 54¢/bl higher.
Crude and oil products prices fell significantly after the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire. The announcements were made shortly before an 8pm ET deadline, when the US was to begin bombing Iranian power plants and bridges.
The US and Iran said on 7 April that they would halt hostilities for a two-week period to finalize a peace deal, but their public statements differ on the status of navigation through the strait of Hormuz.
Trump said late on Tuesday that he would delay a planned massive attack against Iran's civilian and energy sites by two weeks if Iran agrees to allow free transit through the strait of Hormuz.
Trump cited Pakistan's mediation and said that "subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks".
Iran's supreme national security council confirmed the ceasefire agreement but described the peace proposal under discussion as enshrining "continued Iranian control over the strait of Hormuz", according to Iran's Tasnim news agency, which is linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Meanwhile, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts the US light sweet crude benchmark will average more than $100/bl in the second quarter this year even if the US-Israel war on Iran is resolved in April.
WTI at Cushing, Oklahoma, is expected to average $101.63/bl across April-June, the agency said in its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), up from $84.56/bl in its March forecast.
Global benchmark Brent is to average $114.60/bl across the same three-month period, up from $90.56/bl.
The EIA estimates 7.5mn b/d of crude production from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar and Bahrain was shut in in March with the de facto closure of the strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran continues. The EIA expects outages to climb to 9.1mn b/d in April.
Elsewhere, crude exports from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal in the Black Sea have been suspended until at least 10 April, as the port undergoes planned maintenance, market sources said.
Loadings will be suspended for around 72 hours beginning 7 April, to allow for the installation of a new single-point mooring (SPM), they said. This was not directly confirmed and operator Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) declined to comment.
By Rhalain Reyes