Oil Down Over Hopes Of Revival Of 2015 Iran Nuke Deal

Oil prices edged lower on Tuesday as the prospect of a revival "very soon" of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal eased supply concerns.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $96.06 per barrel at 09.58 a.m. local time (0658 GMT) for a 0.61% decrease from the closing price of $96.65 a barrel in the previous trading session.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $90.20 per barrel at the same time for a 0.62% drop after the previous session closed at $90.76 a barrel.

Recovering from last week's multi-month lows on Monday, prices declined again as indirect talks on reviving Iran's nuclear accord between Tehran and Washington mediated by the European Union concluded in the Austrian capital Monday, with a final draft of the agreement on the table.

Iran confirmed relative progress on remaining issues in this round of talks that began Thursday after a five-month hiatus, with discussions still up for debate.

A senior official in Iran's Foreign Ministry was "ed Monday as saying by the state news agency IRNA that the Iranian negotiating team, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, had informed other parties of its positions on the new draft text proposed by the EU.

He said Iran conveyed its "initial response and reservations" to proposals in the new text on remaining issues made by EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell.

The remarks came after the EU said Monday it had put forward a "final" text to salvage the 2015 nuclear accord after four days of intense talks in Vienna between the parties to the deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The deal, if approved, would allow Iran to start oil exports, which some experts expect to be around 1.5 million barrels per day over six months.

Last week, prices dropped to the lowest levels of the past six months over worries that weak economic data released in the US and Europe would negatively impact the oil demand outlook.

However, concerns over a global economic recession eased slightly over positive data from China, the world's largest crude oil importer.

The country imported 8.79 million barrels of oil per day in July, up from June's import levels but 9.5% less than a year earlier, according to China's customs data. -