Oil Drops as Hormuz Reopening Prospects Ease Supply Concerns

Oil prices fell to a two-week low on Tuesday as prospects for Gulf supplies improved, with Iran signaling it could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days and Saudi Arabia set to resume exports from its Red Sea port of Yanbu.

The Brent crude futures LCOc1 November contract was down $2.11, or 2.1%, to $98.23 a barrel at 1151 GMT.

The WTI CLc1 October contract, which expires on Tuesday, lost $2.48, or 2.59%, to $93.30 a barrel. The more actively traded November contract CLc2 was down $2.36, or 2.55%, at $90.01 a barrel.

Brent November, WTI October and WTI November futures all touched their lowest levels since September 8.

Iran can reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the US eases military pressure and lifts its blockade on Iranian ports, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday.

The official said the Iranian delegation to the UN General Assembly in New York has full authority to revive diplomacy with the US.

Hamad Hussain, senior climate and commodities economist at Capital Economics, said the Iranian comments were a sign that diplomacy efforts could be working.

Before US-Israeli attacks on Iran began in late February, the Strait of Hormuz handled