Oil Prices Fall as US-Iran Nuclear Talks Continue

Oil prices experienced a decline as the United States and Iran extended their nuclear talks, with Brent crude futures slipping by 5 cents to $70.70 per barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) falling by 1 cent to $65.20.

This marks a weekly decline of 1.8% for Brent and 2.2% for WTI, reversing previous gains. The market reacted to renewed diplomatic engagements between Washington and Tehran, with indirect talks held in Geneva aimed at resolving long-standing nuclear disputes to prevent further regional escalation.

Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi indicated that progress was made in technical discussions, which are set to continue next week in Vienna. Concurrently, OPEC is expected to consider raising output by 137,000 barrels per day in their meeting on March 1.

Despite the recent dip in oil prices, Nigeria's crude oil benchmark remains above the federal government's budget assumptions for 2026, with actual production in January 2025 reported at 1.48 million barrels per day.