{"id":44120,"date":"2026-04-06T12:16:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T12:16:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/uncategorized\/44120\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T12:16:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T12:16:32","slug":"wti-crude-trades-near-103-30-in-early-european-hours-slipping-on-reports-of-us-iran-ceasefire-talks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/live-updates\/44120\/","title":{"rendered":"WTI crude trades near $103.30 in early European hours, slipping on reports of US-Iran ceasefire talks"},"content":{"rendered":"WTI, the US crude oil benchmark, traded near $103.30 in early European hours on Monday. Prices eased after reports of US and Iran efforts towards a 45-day ceasefire. \n\nThe US, Iran and regional mediators are discussing ceasefire terms that could lead to an end to the war, according to Bloomberg citing Axios. The war began on February 28. \n\n

Srait Of Hormuz Supply Risk<\/h3> \nThe Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed after Iranian attacks on shipping. The route carries oil and petroleum products from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. \n\nOn Sunday, OPEC+ agreed to raise output by 206,000 barrels per day for May. Reports said the group is ready to add supply faster if conditions in the Persian Gulf change. \n\nTraders are waiting for the American Petroleum Institute report due on Tuesday. A larger inventory draw may signal stronger demand, while a larger build may point to weaker demand or excess supply. \n\nWTI stands for West Texas Intermediate and is one of three main crude types, along with Brent and Dubai Crude. It is described as light and sweet, sourced in the US and distributed via the Cushing hub. \n\n

Key Drivers Of Wti Pricing<\/h3> \nWTI prices are shaped by supply and demand, global growth, political instability, wars, sanctions and OPEC decisions. As oil is priced in US Dollars, Dollar moves can also affect prices. \n\nAPI reports are released every Tuesday and EIA reports the next day. Their results are within 1% of each other 75% of the time.\n\nWe remember this time last year, in April 2025, when ceasefire talks between the US and Iran pushed WTI down from its highs around $103. Today, with WTI trading near $88.50, the market is still living with the fragile peace deal that was eventually signed. While the deal holds, traders should remain cautious of any renewed political friction which could cause prices to spike again.\n\nA key difference from early 2025 is that the Strait of Hormuz is now open to shipping, which has eased the extreme supply fears we saw last year. However, shipping volumes are still only at about 90% of their pre-war levels and tanker insurance premiums remain elevated, adding a persistent risk cost to every barrel. This underlying tension provides a floor for prices, preventing them from falling too sharply.\n\nIn response to the easing crisis, OPEC+ has changed its tune from the very modest 206,000 bpd increase agreed upon in May 2025. The group is now producing nearly 2 million bpd more than it was during the peak of the conflict, helping to rebalance the market. Any deviation from their current quotas would be a major signal for traders in the coming weeks.\n\nOn the demand side, recent data shows a mixed picture, with the IEA’s latest forecast trimming global demand growth for 2026, citing a slowdown in Europe. Yet, last week’s EIA report showed a surprise draw in US crude inventories of 2.5 million barrels, suggesting near-term consumption is robust. This creates a classic conflict between short-term strength and a weaker long-term outlook.\n\nGiven these competing factors, derivatives traders should focus on strategies that account for potential volatility. With prices caught between a ceiling of higher OPEC supply and a floor of geopolitical risk, option strangles could be used to profit from a significant price move in either direction. For those with a directional bias, using call or put spreads can define risk on trades expecting either a supply disruption or a demand slowdown to take control.\n\nCreate your live VT Markets account<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0start trading<\/a>\u00a0now. <\/b>\n

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Start trading now – Click here<\/a> to create your real VT Markets account <\/strong> <\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WTI hovered near $103.30 as ceasefire talks eased risk; OPEC+ boosts output; traders await API inventory data.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-updates"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"josephine","author_link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/author\/josephine\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44120\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}