Oil Slips Near $93 Ahead of New Iran Talks

NEW YORK (AP) —

The price of oil slipped close to $93 a barrel on Monday, ahead of the resumption of negotiations in Geneva meant to curb Iran’s nuclear program.

Benchmark U.S. crude for December delivery fell 81 cents to $93.03 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil has traded between $93 and $96 a barrel over the past two weeks, and is down from nearly $110 a barrel in early October.

Iran will resume talks this week in Geneva with six world powers — the U.S., Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany — aimed at resolving a decade-long standoff over Iran’s nuclear program.

The powers are offering a gradual rollback of sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy, raising concerns of an influx of Iranian oil into world markets at a time of already-abundant supplies.

However, two U.S. administrative officials said last week that Iran would get only limited and temporary relief from economic sanctions.

U.S. drivers saw gas prices creep slightly higher over the weekend. The average price for a gallon of gas is now $3.21. That’s still 15 cents less than a month ago and 21 cents cheaper than at this time last year.

Brent crude, the benchmark for an international variety of crude, slipped 3 cents to $108.47 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

In other energy futures trading on Nymex:

  • Wholesale gasoline was flat at $2.66 a gallon.
  • Heating oil was down 2 cents to $2.92 a gallon.
  • Natural gas dropped 4 cents to $3.62 per 1,000 cubic feet.

To Read The Full Story

Are you already a subscriber?
Click to log in!