Crude oil contracts were little changed by midday Wednesday, a day after news that Iran and Oman were in negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart critical oil flows through the Persian Gulf.
At 11:40 a.m. ET, NYMEX October West Texas Intermediate crude futures inched down less than 5cts to $82.35/bbl and November WTI was up about 10cts to $81/bbl.
London-based October Brent was 10cts lower to $88.50/bbl and November Brent was up 5cts to $87.35/bbl.
In the last two sessions, the oil benchmarks had lost $4-5/bbl on the prospect of a new deal to allow shipping traffic through the strait.
On Tuesday, Oman's Foreign Ministry said Iran and Oman discussed a plan to establish a temporary joint maritime corridor through the strait as well as a project to clear mines from the key oil shipping route.
More active October RBOB was up around 4cts to $2.971/gal and September RBOB was 6.85cts higher to $3.3215/gal. October ULSD was up 3.45cts to $4.1740/gal and September ULSD was 4.25cts higher to $4.286/gal.
Energy traders are now digesting the latest U.S. data that showed declines in gasoline and distillate inventories last week, while U.S. crude stocks increased slightly for a second straight weekly gain.