Oil prices slipped marginally lower Monday, ahead of more dialogue between the U.S. and Iran aimed at deescalating tensions in the Middle East.

At 04:55 ET (09:55 GMT), Brent oil futures for April fell 0.4% to $67.46 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.4% to $62.48 a barrel.

Market holidays in China and the U.S. limited trading volumes, and means there will be no settlement price for the WTI contract.

U.S., Iran to resume nuclear talks this week

U.S. and Iran will hold a second round of talks over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions in Switzerland later this week, after the two renewed negotiations earlier in February in Oman.

But the renewed dialogue also came as the U.S. deployed a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East, and was seen preparing for a sustained military campaign against Tehran if talks failed.

U.S. President Donald Trump also repeatedly warned Tehran to accept a deal or face more military action.

Iranian ministers told the media over the weekend that the country was ready to compromise on its nuclear programme in return for relief from debilitating U.S. sanctions. They also signaled that it was now up to Washington whether it wanted a deal.

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said he will meet the UN nuclear watchdog chief on Monday, ahead of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks to tackle their dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program and avert conflict as U.S. warships deploy to the Middle East.

“I am in Geneva with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal. What is not on the table: submission before threats,” Araqchi said on X.

Concerns over Iran lent oil prices some support in recent weeks, as traders priced in a greater risk premium on concerns over renewed hostilities between Tehran and Washington. A renewed conflict is expected to disrupt oil production in Iran.

OPEC+ leaning towards more production hikes – Reuters

But oil’s risk premium was in part offset by a Reuters report that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies. a group known as OPEC+, planned to resume its oil production increases from April.

An increase in production will allow member states in the cartel to further benefit from a recent increase in crude prices, although any increase in production is also likely to weigh on prices in the long term.

“There is growing noise around what OPEC+ may decide for April production levels when they meet on 1 March,” said analysts at ING, in a note. !The group had suspended supply increases in the first quarter of this year due to seasonality. However, with our balance sheet continuing to show a large surplus in the second quarter, there is no need for the group to bring additional supply onto the market from April. Despite this, some OPEC+ members reportedly believe that the market can cope with additional supply increases.”

Concerns over a supply glut in 2026 had battered oil markets through 2025. While the OPEC had increased production through the past year, the cartel paused its production hikes in December amid persistent concerns over a supply glut.

Oil prices rushed to a six-month high in early-2026 on heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, while signs of resilience in the global economy also drove hopes that demand will remain strong.
Source: Investing.com