Crude oil prices decreased after JD Vance, the Vice President of the United States, contacted Mohammad Hossein Raeisi, the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, to revive peace negotiations. Currently, the price of Brent oil has reached $114.14 and West Texas Intermediate is at $101.45 per barrel, which is a decrease from Wednesday but still higher than the prices at the beginning of October.
Details of Diplomatic Contacts
According to informed sources, JD Vance has sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, the former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, to discuss the possibility of reaching a peace agreement. These contacts came after President Donald Trump's threats to resume tensions with Iran following the November 3 midterm elections. Trump also stated last week: "We are not negotiating with them, we will somehow reach an agreement, it will happen soon." This position seems to contradict Vance's actions, but news sources have reported that Trump was aware of Vance's actions and approved them.
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Oil Market Conditions and Other Developments
Despite uncertainty about the success of peace negotiations, oil traders are once again optimistic about a positive future in this regard and are buying accordingly. Reports indicate that Qatari mediators have presented a new draft of the peace agreement to the Iranian side this week, and Iran has stated that it is still ready for a diplomatic solution to the war, but has emphasized that its conditions for peace must be met.
On the other hand, Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia's energy and civilian infrastructure continue, with the latest attack occurring at Aden airport in Yemen on Wednesday. Additionally, Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries appear to have stopped, and JP Morgan reports that the last confirmed attack on the Rizan refinery was on October 15.
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