(Investing) – Oil prices ticked up on Friday, after reports citing Iran’s foreign minister said talks between the country and the U.S. had got off to a “good start.”
At 11:05 ET (16:05 GMT), for April were up 1% to $68.15 a barrel and rose 0.9% to $63.85 a barrel.
Notably, the crude benchmarks were on track for weekly declines of 3.4% and 2%, respectively, their first since mid-December 2025, as investors priced in a smaller risk premium, while also taking some profits after a big runup.
Araghchi says ’good start’ to U.S.-Iran talks
U.S. and Iranian officials met in Oman Friday morning amid heightened military tensions in the Middle East, after Washington deployed at least two naval fleets in the region.
Iran’s foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi told local news outlets that talks had gotten off to a “positive and good start” and that further discussions would follow.
Markets are hoping that dialogue between Tehran and Washington will help deescalate some tensions and prevent a broader war – a notion that has seen traders taking some risk premium out of crude this week.
The U.S. and Iran were earlier seen disagreeing over the subject of Friday’s talks, with Iran rejecting U.S. calls to discuss its missile arsenal and stating that the discussions will only be limited to discussing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
Araghchi, speaking to Iran’s state news agency, reiterated that the talks focused “solely” on the nuclear issue.
Iran is a major producer of oil, and is located next to the Strait of Hormuz – one of the world’s most important shipping channels for crude.
If these talks result in a concrete agreement, attention is likely to shift back to the demand–supply balance, with production growth likely to outpace consumption.
“In that environment, oil prices may struggle to find support without a clear catalyst,” said Nikos Tzabouras, Senior Market Analyst at Tradu.com.
However, “ongoing tensions in the Middle East, particularly around key shipping routes, mean disruption risks cannot be ruled out and could quickly shift sentiment back towards higher prices.”
Oil heads for weekly loss
This would be the first week this year and the first since mid-December 2025 that the crude benchmarks have registered losses, with prices facing some profit-taking after logging six consecutive weeks of gains.
Crude was initially boosted by bets on tighter supplies, especially as extreme weather in the U.S. disrupted production across the country.
Production outages in Kazakhstan and fears of a greater conflict in the Middle East also supported crude.
But this gave way to some profit-taking this week, while a broader rout in commodity prices, amid pressure from a resurgent dollar, also weighed on oil.
The was headed for its strongest week in nearly a month after markets viewed Kevin Warsh, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee for the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, as a less dovish pick.
Ambar Warrick and Peter Nurse contributed to this article
