Oil prices fall amid hopes for a truce between the US and Iran

Oil prices saw a slight decline on Friday as the market assessed mixed factors including the possibility of a truce between the United States and Iran, alongside Houthi shelling on Saudi Arabia. Brent crude fell 74 cents, or 0.69 percent, to $105.85 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 81 cents, or 0.86 percent, to $93.80 per barrel. Trading started tepidly in contrast to a week of sharp volatility, with oil prices rising yesterday Thursday to their highest level in a week. This comes as US and Iranian negotiators in New York explore a gradual path to end the war, involving Tehran reopening the Strait of Hormuz and Washington lifting the economic blockade on Iran, according to sources close to the negotiations.