Oil Falls For Fifth Straight Session To Two-Week Low: Brent Below $98 WTI Below $93 Lowest Since September 8 Fifth Consecutive Session Decline Iran Reportedly Offering To Reopen Hormuz Within Days If US Eases Pressure Fars News: Reports Unreliable Untrue Trump Signals Willingness To Meet Iranian President Pezeshkian At UNGA Rubio: Open To Meeting Not Scheduled
Oil prices fell sharply for a fifth straight trading session on September 22, reaching a two-week low on hopes of a renewed diplomatic push to end the Iran war and optimism over the reopening of a critical pipeline in Saudi Arabia. Brent crude oil briefly slipped below $98 per barrel while US crude oil fell below $93 per barrel, their lowest prices since September 8. NBC News
Prices first began sliding overnight on reports that Iran was offering to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within days if the US takes steps toward easing pressure on the country. NBC News has not confirmed the reports. Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency said that “Iranian sources have described these reports as unreliable and untrue.”
Trump signalled a willingness to meet with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, which had already soothed some market concerns. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC News the US was “open to something like that,” though nothing was scheduled.
Saudi Arabia’s oil exports recovered to more than 4 million barrels per day in September, according to Kpler, up from 2.4 million barrels per day in August; the lowest level since at least 2013. JPMorgan analysts noted that total oil flows averaged 17.1 million barrels per day over the past 10 days, around 6.1 million below the 2025 average. Ryan McKay of TD Securities said it appeared that “without a major escalation Iran may have lost notable leverage in the Strait.”
The Houthis on Saturday targeted Riyadh and the port city of Yanbu; Saudi Arabia’s key oil export terminal on the Red Sea. The Saudi military said it intercepted a ballistic missile launched at Riyadh and its air defenses thwarted the attack on Yanbu.
Diplomacy is showing cracks in the oil price. Whether those cracks hold depends entirely on whether Washington and Tehran show up to the same room.
Check out our previous coverage of global oil markets on The Trusted Times.
