The Iranian nuclear agreement may be reached soon, and U.S. oil has fallen 5% to $90 since the daily high

On Wednesday (February 16), crude oil fell 1.
27% to close at $92.
1 / barrel
.
Earlier, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Bagheri Kani, said that after weeks of intensive negotiations, we are closer than ever to a deal, and oil prices gave up intraday gains and closed lower
.

Crude oil inventories rose by 1.
121 million barrels to 411.
5 million barrels, an increase of 0.
3%, in the week ended February 11, according to EIA data.
Refined oil inventories decreased by 1.
552 million barrels, gasoline inventories by 1.
332 million barrels and Cushing crude inventories by 1.
9 million barrels
.
Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) inventories fell by 2.
687 million barrels last week to 584.
8 million barrels, the lowest
since the week of September 20, 2002.
The four-week average of U.
S.
crude product supplies rose to a record high
in the latest week.

U.
S.
Gulf refiners cut capacity to 83.
5 percent, the lowest level since October, after a cold snap caused four major refiners to lose power
, EIA data said.
Cushing oil inventories continued to decline sharply to operational lows at their lowest level since September 2018, adding to fears of
tight global inventories.

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, said on Twitter that it was "closer than ever" to reaching an agreement with world powers on reviving the nuclear deal, however, major differences
remained over how to achieve Iran's shrinking of nuclear activities in exchange for easing sanctions.
Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat, said he was convinced an Iran nuclear deal was "imminent" and urged world powers to reach a compromise to revive the troubled agreement
.
Meanwhile, Russia's special envoy for talks on Sunday said there had been "significant progress"
in the round.

Officials at the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) are meeting with at least two South Korean refineries to discuss the possibility of
resuming supplies, according to people familiar with the matter.
Negotiations are in the preliminary stages and supply and timelines have not yet been determined
, one of the people said.
A delegation of officials from Iran's central bank, the Ministry of Oil and the National Iranian Oil Company will hold working-level talks on financial and oil-related matters
in Seoul on Feb.
15-16, in a statement on South Korea's Foreign Ministry website.
Yonhap News Agency reported on January 29 that the two countries plan to hold talks
on Iran's frozen assets.

While stalemate and geopolitical risks in Europe remain the main topics this week, there are signs that U.
S.
shale gas supplies could increase
, institutional analysis noted.
Coupled with a potential supply release from Iran, both could increase oil production, thus dampening bullish sentiment
to some extent.
Citi expects increased production in Iran, as well as potential production increases in Iraq, Venezuela, the United States, Canada and Brazil, reinforcing expectations
that crude oil prices will fall below $65 a barrel by the end of the year.

Russia's threatening posture toward Ukraine has dominated the oil market
for weeks.
There are fears that supply disruptions in major oil producers could push oil prices as high as $
100 a barrel amid tight supplies in global markets.
U.
S.
officials have previously said they have not confirmed claims
that Russia has begun withdrawing some of its troops from the Ukrainian border.
The Russian side has repeatedly denied plans to invade Ukraine
.
In the absence of conclusive evidence of a Russian withdrawal, the market mentality that had caused the sharp drop in oil prices shifted in the direction of a possible escalation of tensions
.

A more direct oil price indicator hit the $100/barrel mark
.
According to S&P Global Platts, the price of Dated Brent, the price of North Sea crude spot carriers, reached $100.
80 a barrel on Wednesday, the first time
since 2014.

Edward Morse, global head of commodities research at Citi, said: "The market is always reacting to the current and future situation, and the situation changes every day is ambiguous
.
"

(U.
S.
oil hourly chart)