Brent falls below $71 a barrel amid reports of progress in talks to end the war permanently. Published On 2 Jul 20262 Jul 2026Oil prices have fallen to levels not seen since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran amid rising hopes for a breakthrough in negotiations aimed at sealing a permanent peace deal.Brent crude fell more than 1 percent on Thursday to below $71 a barrel, returning the international benchmark to pre-war prices.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listBrent futures for August delivery stood at $70.82 per barrel as of 04:30 GMT, lower than at any point since February 27, the day before the war began.Following the latest drop, Brent prices are down more than 38 percent from their post-war peak of more than $126 a barrel on April 30.The slide came after Qatar, a key mediator between Washington and Tehran, said that US and Iranian officials had made “positive progress” in indirect talks aimed at resolving issues related to their memorandum of understanding (MoU) on ending the war.US President Donald Trump also cast a positive light on the talks on Wednesday, saying the “denuclearisation of Iran is moving along well”.Vandana Hari, the founder of the Singapore-based oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights, said a steady uptick in oil flows out of the Gulf and “cautiously optimistic geopolitical sentiment” has driven prices lower.“Several key issues in the MoU remain unresolved, but the two sides appear to have backed off confrontation on the issue of the interim Hormuz transit regime, at least for th …
