Oil Extends Its Slide as U.S. and Iran Report "Productive" Talks at the UN

September 23, 2026 | New York, NY

WTI dips toward $89 and Brent holds near $99 as diplomatic momentum builds just ahead of Thursday's Trump-Xi summit

Crude prices continued easing Wednesday, with West Texas Intermediate down roughly 1% to the $89.60-$90 range and Brent crude slipping toward $99 a barrel, extending a pullback that has now run for several sessions. President Trump said U.S. representatives held "very productive" three-hour talks with Iranian counterparts at the United Nations, while Iranian officials confirmed the discussions took place but denied any change to their preconditions regarding the Strait of Hormuz — a more cautious signal than the price action alone might suggest.

The move continues a theme that has defined energy markets over the past week: reports that Iran has signaled the Strait of Hormuz could reopen, paired with Saudi Aramco's reported plans to restart its Yanbu pipeline, have traders increasingly confident that the region's worst-case shipping disruption scenarios are receding even as underlying tensions persist. The distinction between diplomatic signaling and a durable resolution still matters enormously for anyone budgeting energy costs into the fourth quarter.

Thursday's Trump-Xi summit adds another variable specific to energy markets, given that sanctions on buyers of Russian oil are among the topics expected to come up in talks between the two leaders. For now, crude remains well off its highs from earlier this year, but traders are treating this week's diplomatic momentum as a reason for caution rather than conviction until something more concrete emerges from Hormuz shipping lanes themselves.

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