Gasoline prices are displayed at a service station in Miami, Florida. [AP]
Gasoline prices are displayed at a service station in Miami, Florida. [AP]

Oil prices edged up Wednesday (local time) as US-Iran negotiations remained deadlocked and American petroleum product inventories fell.

Brent crude for November delivery settled at $103.53 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange, up $0.94 (0.92 percent) from the previous session. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for November delivery closed at $90.42 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up $1.04 (1.16 percent).

Prices came under upward pressure as US-Iran talks failed to break through an impasse. President Donald Trump denied a report by Axios that the United States was considering easing sanctions and releasing frozen Iranian funds in exchange for concrete steps by Iran on its nuclear program.

News that US refined petroleum product inventories had declined also pushed prices higher. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), gasoline stocks fell by 1.7 million barrels last week to 204.4 million barrels, while middle distillate inventories — including diesel and heating oil — dropped by 2.3 million barrels to 105.2 million barrels.


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