Oil Steadies in Choppy Trades, Awaiting U.S. Move on Iran


   
Barani Krishnan
DTN Refined Fuels Market Reporter

   SECAUCUS, NJ (DTN) -- Oil and product futures settled little changed in 
choppy trading for a second consecutive day Thursday (2/26) as market 
participants debated on the next course of action for the U.S. if Iran did not 
shut down its nuclear program as demanded by the Trump administration.

   U.S. and Iranian negotiators are in Geneva for a third round of nuclear 
talks after the first two that produced limited results.

   Crude prices have been volatile over the past week as traders tried to 
decipher U.S. President Donald Trump's mixed messaging on Iran.

   The market surged initially to seven-month highs as the president said 
Tehran would have to reach a nuclear deal with the White House or face 
consequences from the largest military presence the U.S. has assembled in the 
Middle East in decades.

   In recent days, however, Trump has wavered on this, saying diplomacy would 
his preferred choice of engagement with Iran.

   "It really depends what remark of his you're using to trade at which point 
of the day; but the bottom line is no one wants to be caught short in this 
market if the U.S. suddenly starts launching missiles at Iran," a trader told 
DTN. "But the market is also pacing itself on the upside because there's way 
more supply now than demand."

   Crude price gains have been capped since the start of the year, with the 
International Energy Agency warning of a supply surplus of 3.7 million bpd for 
2026 while the U.S. Energy Information Administration reporting for last week a 
crude build of 16 million bpd -- the most for a week since 2023.

   NYMEX WTI crude futures for April delivery settled down $0.21 at $65.21 bbl, 
while ICE Brent crude for April delivery closed down $0.10 at $70.75 bbl.

   Downstream, front-month RBOB futures slid $0.0369 to $2.0283 gallon, while 
ULSD futures fell $0.0315 to $2.6425 gallon.

   The U.S. dollar index rose by 0.115 points to 97.74 against a basket of 
foreign currencies.




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