Trump discusses easing sanctions against Iran

The price of US oil fell 2% on Wednesday after Bloomberg News announced that President Donald Trump had discussed easing sanctions against Iran in order to reopen negotiations.

WTI crude oil futures fell 2.75% to $ 55.84 per barrel, while Brent crude fell 2.5% to $ 60.83 per barrel.

Trump has announced the idea of ​​easing sanctions against Iran in order to hold a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani later this month, the report said.

Tensions between the United States and Iran have intensified since June, following attacks on oil tankers and an American drone near the Strait of Hormuz which, according to the United States, was reportedly executed by the United States. Iran. Although Iran denies that it has carried out oil tanker attacks and claims that the drone was in Iranian airspace, President Donald Trump signed a decree imposing new sanctions on Iran in response to the assassination of Iran. an unmanned UAV

The Strait of Ormuz, a narrow canal between the borders of Iran and Oman, accounts for about 30% of the world's maritime oil traffic.

When asked if he was considering easing the sanctions to get a meeting with Iran, Trump said "we'll see what happens". Trump said that he thought Iran wanted to make an agreement.

It is not clear if Iran would even agree to talk to the White House. In July, Iran's Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zanganeh told CNBC that Iran was not ready to enter into talks with the United States until the sanctions were fully lifted.

However, the White House is prepared for Trump to meet Rouhani this month in New York at the UN General Assembly, sources told Bloomberg. It is possible that Trump attends a meeting between Rouhani and French President Emmanuel Macron, said the same sources.

According to the report, former Trump National Security Advisor, John Bolton, who resigned on Tuesday, was against lifting the sanctions. Bolton's departure from the White House eliminates one of Iran's most uncompromising supporters.

Separately and earlier Wednesday, the US Energy Information Administration said crude oil inventories were down 6.9 million barrels from the previous week, while analysts forecast a drop of 2.7 million barrels.

– read the Bloomberg full report right here.