Oil Prices Edge Lower In Volatile Trade

(RTTNews) - Oil prices traded lower in volatile trade on Tuesday amid hopes for diplomatic efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war and signs of recovering Saudi oil exports.

Brent crude futures were down half a percent at $99.86 a barrel after closing 3.4 percent lower on Monday. WTI crude futures fell 1.1 percent to $91.32 a barrel.

Against the backdrop of the wars in Ukraine and Iran that show no signs of abating, U.S. President Donald Trump will have a flurry of diplomatic meetings with 11 world leaders.

Trump is set to address UN General Assembly later today and is expected to meet his Ukrainian counterpart Zelenskyy on Tuesday as diplomacy falters over wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

As the Saudi-Houthi conflict rages on, Trump is expected to meet Gulf leaders impacted by the war with Iran to discuss the conflict and focus on plans for a postwar strategy.

The Trump administration has proposed investing $5 billion in a new fund that would help Middle East countries rebuild energy infrastructure damaged in the Iran war, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Chinese President Xi Jumping will arrive in Washington on Thursday for extensive talks with Trump, with Washinton seeking Chinese support for sanctions against Iran. Investors were also reacting to reports suggesting that Saudi Arabia has increased crude oil loadings from its Gulf export terminals.

Saudi Aramco loaded about 14 million barrels of crude oil on seven supertankers inside the Mideast Gulf on Sunday, according to data from TankerTrackers.com.