NEW YORK: Oil prices fell more than seven per cent on Monday as talks between Iranian and Qatari officials lifted hopes for an end to the US-Israeli war with Iran and stabilisation of Middle East crude supply.

Iran’s president said the supreme leader had granted the government “certain authorities” regarding peace talks. The country’s negotiators held days of talks with Qatari mediators to end the war. A draft proposal is being circulated, with a follow-up meeting possible, an official briefed on the talks said.

Brent crude futures fell $8.47, or 7.47pc, to $104.96 a barrel by 12:24pm EST (1724 GMT). US West Texas Intermediate crude was down $7.50, or 7.2pc, at $96.62.

The session low for Brent was $104.49 and for WTI it was $96.44, with analysts citing hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei had granted the government certain authorities for peace talks.

Pezeshkian added Tehran “will try to resolve the problem with dialogue”, without elaborating, according to state media.

Signs of progress in US-Iran talks pushed oil prices lower, Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov said, noting, however, that scepticism is warranted after many “false dawns over the past several months.”

Brent ended October at its highest in six months on concerns that the Middle East conflict could escalate again after Tuesday’s US midterm elections.

“The oil market is still reacting with extreme sensitivity to every headline out of the Middle East,” UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.

Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2026