Oil falls slightly on reports of potential US-Iran ceasefire deal

PERTH: Oil futures fell slightly on Friday on hopes for a potential deal to extend a U.S.-Iran ceasefire, although remarks from Vice ​President JD Vance that the nations were "close" to reaching a deal ‌but "not there yet" kept a floor under prices.

Brent crude futures for July, which expire on Friday's settlement, were down 35 cents, or 0.37%, at $93.36 a barrel at ​0105 GMT. U.S. oil futures fell 63 cents, or 0.71%, to $88.27 ​a barrel.

The more actively traded August Brent futures fell 46 ⁠cents, or 0.50%, to $92.24.

Prices were down more than 8% for the week ​with Brent hitting a low of $87.11 versus last week's high of $109.47.

Prices have ​been volatile in recent sessions, swinging by as much as $6 for both benchmarks on conflicting signals over a possible end to the three-month Iran war and the potential re-opening ​of the Strait of Hormuz - a key transit route for roughly a ​fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.

Traffic through the maritime chokepoint ‌remains ⁠a small fraction of the pre-war level.

The U.S. and Iran reached an agreement on Thursday to extend their ceasefire and lift restrictions on shipping through the strait, sources told Reuters, though U.S. President Donald Trump has yet to approve ​it and Iranian ​state media said ⁠it had not been finalised.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance told reporters that Washington was "not there yet" with Iran ​on an agreement but that they were close, adding ​that the ⁠U.S. was in a position where it could substantially set back Tehran's nuclear program.

Vance said there were a couple of sticking points in talks with ⁠Tehran concerning ​its enriched uranium stockpile and the question ​of enrichment.

"I can't guarantee that we're going to get there, but right now I feel ​pretty good about it," he said.