WTI Crude Ends Higher as US-Iran Peace Talks Show Little Progress

December WTI crude oil futures closed up $0.49, or 0.57%, on Wednesday as short covering lifted prices amid mounting concerns that US-Iran peace negotiations have stalled. Shipping attacks in the Strait of Hormuz added to supply-risk anxiety, with investors closely monitoring updates on the situation. Despite the modest gain in crude, December RBOB gasoline futures slipped 0.0013, or 0.05%, leaving energy markets with a mixed settlement.

The move higher in crude spilled over into other commodity markets, with sugar futures rallying sharply on the back of oil's gains. March NY world sugar futures closed up 0.39, or 2.16%, while December London ICE white sugar rose 6.50, or 1.29%, as the jump in WTI prompted short covering across the complex. Meanwhile, gasoline futures trading around $2.60 per gallon prompted some analysts to suggest pump prices could fall by roughly another 35 cents ahead of Thanksgiving.

Middle East oil flows remained far from normal despite broader signals of global oversupply, underscoring the tension between geopolitical risk and demand fundamentals. Reports of renewed US-Iran diplomacy briefly weighed on prices later in the session, but uncertainty over the outcome of those talks kept a floor under crude.