Oil prices fell on Friday after Iranian state media announced that Tehran had sent a new peace proposal to the United States through a Pakistani mediator.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped more than five percent, briefly slipping below the psychologically important $100 per barrel level before recovering to $101.70 by 1530 GMT. Brent crude, the other major U.S. benchmark, also rebounded after an initial decline of over three percent, moving from $106.98 to $108.40. For comparison, at the start of the U.S.–Israel conflict with Iran in late February, Brent was trading near $73 and WTI around $67 per barrel.
The official IRNA news agency reported that Iran transmitted the text of its latest proposal to Pakistan on Thursday evening, but offered no further details. Both benchmarks had opened Friday’s session with modest gains, while the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz continued to restrict oil shipments from the Gulf.
Strategic petroleum reserves are dwindling, prompting investors to monitor any indication of improved supply. “Each week the Strait of Hormuz remains closed adds roughly $5 to the average price per barrel,” said analyst Ole Hvalbye to AFP.
The outlook for production quotas was also in focus. Seven members of OPEC and the OPEC+ alliance are scheduled to meet on Sunday, their first decision on output since the United Arab Emirates exited the cartel. Analysts at Global Risk Management expect the group to raise quotas by about 188,000 barrels per day, according to chief analyst Arne Lohmann Rasmussen. Rasmussen, however, cautioned that the meeting is likely to have limited impact on prices because key producers such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq are constrained by the regional conflict and cannot increase output.
The price movements underscore how diplomatic signals and supply‑chain disruptions continue to influence global oil markets. Market participants will be watching the upcoming OPEC+ meeting and any further diplomatic developments for clues about the trajectory of crude prices in the coming weeks.
