Ice Brent futures pared some losses from the previous session in early Asian trading, after the US and Iran still appear to be talking past each other on key issues to end their war.
The Ice front-month July Brent contract was at $104.24/bl at 04:00 GMT, up by $1.66/bl from its settlement on 21 May when it ended $2.44/bl lower.
The Nymex front-month July crude contract was at $97.48/bl, higher by $1.13/bl from its settlement on 21 May when it ended $1.91/bl lower.
"Right now, we're negotiating, and we'll see," US president Donald Trump told reporters on 21 May, a day after proclaiming the talks to be in "the final stages".
But comments from Trump and Iranian officials point to continued disagreement over the status of Iran's nuclear programme and freedom of navigation through the strait of Hormuz.
The US is insisting on taking possession of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, Trump said. "We'll probably destroy it after we get it, but we're not going to let them have it," he said.
Tehran has continued to roll out more details of its plans to control navigation through Hormuz, with the country's economy ministry proposing an insurance-based model to manage the transit of vessels through the critical Mideast Gulf waterway.
The US charge d'affaires in Venezuela, John Barrett, and representatives from ExxonMobil met this week in Caracas to discuss the future of Venezuela, a source said on 21 May.
ExxonMobil has publicly expressed caution about going back to Venezuela after enduring two nationalisations in a span of 30 years, in 1976 and 2006. But it confirmed in March that it sent a team to Venezuela to assess its options.
Ice Brent futures pared some losses from the previous session in early Asian trading, after the US and Iran still appear to be talking past each other on key issues to end their war.
The Ice front-month July Brent contract was at $104.24/bl at 04:00 GMT, up by $1.66/bl from its settlement on 21 May when it ended $2.44/bl lower.
The Nymex front-month July crude contract was at $97.48/bl, higher by $1.13/bl from its settlement on 21 May when it ended $1.91/bl lower.
"Right now, we're negotiating, and we'll see," US president Donald Trump told reporters on 21 May, a day after proclaiming the talks to be in "the final stages".
But comments from Trump and Iranian officials point to continued disagreement over the status of Iran's nuclear programme and freedom of navigation through the strait of Hormuz.
The US is insisting on taking possession of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, Trump said. "We'll probably destroy it after we get it, but we're not going to let them have it," he said.
Tehran has continued to roll out more details of its plans to control navigation through Hormuz, with the country's economy ministry proposing an insurance-based model to manage the transit of vessels through the critical Mideast Gulf waterway.
The US charge d'affaires in Venezuela, John Barrett, and representatives from ExxonMobil met this week in Caracas to discuss the future of Venezuela, a source said on 21 May.
ExxonMobil has publicly expressed caution about going back to Venezuela after enduring two nationalisations in a span of 30 years, in 1976 and 2006. But it confirmed in March that it sent a team to Venezuela to assess its options.
By YouLiang Chay