The oil markets became jittery Friday following yet another round of talks that did not happen between the United States and Iran as there was uncertainty whether the interim pact could evolve into a permanent peace accord.
Brent crude for August delivery fell 0.45% to $79.49 per barrel, while WTI for July delivery declined 0.31% to $76.36 per barrel.
Switzerland’s foreign ministry confirmed that the negotiations planned for Friday at Bürgenstock would no longer go ahead. The White House also said Vice President JD Vance had canceled his trip to Switzerland because logistical issues surrounding the meeting remained unresolved.
JD said on Thursday that tankers carrying more than 12 million barrels of oil had passed through the Strait of Hormuz overnight. He added that Iran had avoided firing at ships in the waterway for a second consecutive night and was continuing to respect its commitment.
Meanwhile, OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said the group does not see global oil demand reaching a peak anytime soon. Haitham also dismissed the International Energy Agency’s prediction that the market could face a supply glut in the future.
Asian equities closed the trading day with mixed performance. The Nikkei 225 of Japan rose by 0.28% to 71,250.06 after hitting a record high during the previous trading day on Thursday. The Topix Index declined by 0.57% to close at 4,044.96.
Kospi Index of South Korea lost 0.13% to 9,052.42 while the Kosdaq index dropped 3.43%. Samsung Electronics reversed its gains and finished the day 2.34% lower, while SK Hynix increased 2.94%.
The S&P/ASX 200 index of Australia closed at 8,828.7 after losing 0.92%. Trading in the U.S., China, Hong Kong and Taiwan remained suspended due to holidays.
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 was last trading nearly 0.1% higher, recovering from an earlier decline as gains in energy and healthcare shares helped contain losses elsewhere.
There was some pressure on UK government bonds following new figures that public borrowing hit the highest level in May since 2019.
The UK has seen a budget deficit of £23.3 billion or $30.8 billion, which sent the yields on the 10-year gilt up by over 7 basis points to 4.8247%.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin dropped below $63,000 and lost 1% in the last 24 hours. The gold price has fallen by 1.3% to around $4,100 per ounce and silver is trading above $65 an ounce having fallen 1%.
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