Oil prices slide 2% to two-week low on talk of progress in US-Iran talks

Published Wed, Feb 18, 2026 · 06:47 AM

[NEW YORK] Oil prices fell about 2 per cent to a two-week low on Tuesday (Feb 17) on hopes tensions between the United States and Iran were easing after Iran’s foreign minister said that the countries had reached an understanding on the main “guiding principles” of their nuclear talks.

Brent futures fell US$1.23, or 1.8 per cent, to settle at US$67.42 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 56 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to settle at US$62.33.

Those were the lowest closes for Brent since Feb 3 and for WTI since Feb 2.

Iran and the United States reached an understanding on the main “guiding principles” in a second round of indirect talks in Geneva over their nuclear dispute on Tuesday, but that does not mean a deal is imminent, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said.

The talks took place amid a US military buildup in the Middle East. Iran’s supreme leader said on Tuesday that any US attempt to depose his government would fail.

Separately, Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz for a few hours on Tuesday, Iranian state media reported, without making clear whether the waterway, one of the world’s most vital oil export routes, had fully reopened.

Oil prices are likely to stay volatile, with sharp two-way swings driven by diplomatic signals rather than pure demand-supply fundamentals, said Sugandha Sachdeva, founder of SS WealthStreet, a New Delhi-based research firm.

Investors are closely watching US-Iran relations as any escalation or conflict could lead to Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz. About a fifth of the oil consumed globally passes through the Strait of Hormuz between Oman and Iran, making any disruptions in the area a major risk to global oil supplies.

Iran and fellow Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) members Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq export most of their crude via the Strait, mainly to Asia.

In 2025, Iran was the third-biggest crude producer in Opec behind Saudi Arabia and Iraq, according to US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data. Another factor weighing on prices was the gradual increase in oil production at Kazakhstan’s giant Tengiz oil field after an outage in January, Russian news agency Interfax reported.

Russia and Ukraine

Also in Geneva on Tuesday, negotiators from Ukraine and Russia concluded the first of two days of US-mediated peace talks in Geneva on Tuesday, with US President Donald Trump pressing Kyiv to act fast to reach a deal to end the four-year conflict.

Any peace resolution could see a lifting of sanctions on Russia, bringing Russian oil back to the mainstream market.

In 2025, Russia was the third-biggest crude producer in the world behind the United States and Saudi Arabia, according to data from the US EIA. Ukraine, meanwhile, continued its attacks on Russian energy infrastructure. The Ukrainian military said on Tuesday that it struck the Ilsky refinery, while a drone attack was also reported at the port of Taman. REUTERS