Ammon News - Oil prices were mixed on Wednesday with Brent futures up ‌and U.S. futures down amid uncertainty over crude supply from the key Middle East producing region as the Strait of Hormuz remains mainly shut.

Brent crude futures were up 40 cents, or 0.4%, to $95.19 a barrel at 0420 GMT, paring earlier losses of as much as 0.9%, after falling 4.6% in the ​previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 23 cents, or 0.3%, to $91.05. The contract earlier fell as much ​as 4.7% after dropping 7.9% the session before.

Talks to end the war between the U.S. and Israel ⁠and Iran could resume in Pakistan over the next two days, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, after the collapse of negotiations ​over the weekend prompted Washington to impose a blockade on Iranian ports. This has increased optimism talks could eventually settle the conflict and ​open up crude oil and fuel flows.

Despite a two-week ceasefire, transit through the strait remains uncertain, with traffic at only a fraction of the 130 or so vessels that moved through the waterway ​before the war, sources said on ​Tuesday.

The market stands to lose some access to further supply after two ​U.S. administration officials told ⁠Reuters on Tuesday the U.S. will not renew a 30-day waiver of sanctions on Iranian oil at sea that expires this week, and quietly let a similar waiver on sanctions on Russian oil expire over the weekend.

Later in the day, markets will be watching for official U.S. inventory ⁠data from ​the Energy Information Administration due at 10:30 a.m. ET (1430 GMT).

U.S. crude oil stockpiles ​were expected to have risen slightly last week, while distillate and gasoline inventories likely fell, a Reuters poll showed.

Reuters