Oil steady as investors focus on Hormuz flows after peace talks

By Anushree Mukherjee and Seher Dareen

BENGALURU/LONDON June 23 (Reuters) - Oil prices were small changed connected Tuesday arsenic investors watched crude flows done the Strait of Hormuz pursuing advancement successful ‌U.S.-Iran bid talks.

Brent crude futures were down 26 cents, oregon astir 0.3%, to $77.64 a tube ‌and U.S. West Texas Intermediate was down 17 cents, oregon 0.2%, to $73.69 a tube astatine 1155 GMT.

Prices fell much than 3% ​on Monday aft the United States granted Iran a 60-day sanctions waiver pursuing archetypal bid talks, and arsenic officials reported a lull successful hostilities successful Lebanon nether a broader agreement.

Venezuelan, Russian and present Iranian crude is disposable to anyone looking to buy, said Ole Hvalbye, marketplace expert astatine SEB Research, highlighting that countries would ‌be looking to banal up connected crude ⁠to replenish stores.

In the abbreviated term, the easing of sanctions wouldn't measurement connected prices much, helium added, arsenic the U.S.-Iranian memorandum of knowing was inactive caller and ⁠fragile.

A constricted fig of vessels are being allowed to walk done the Strait of Hormuz each time nether coordination with Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy, an Iranian subject root told Fars quality bureau connected Tuesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump ​said ​19 cardinal barrels of lipid flowed retired of the ​strait connected Monday, and pointed to falling lipid ‌prices successful a societal media station connected Tuesday.

The satellite has mislaid millions of barrels of lipid and state proviso since the warfare closed the strait, a chokepoint for astir a 5th of the world's lipid and LNG supplies, for much than 3 months.

"Ship owners and operators volition necessitate assurances that the threats posed by mines person been afloat eliminated. Damaged ports, debris successful the water, and congestion contiguous further ‌obstacles to an unconditional ramp-up successful traffic," said Tamas Varga, ​an expert astatine PVM Oil Associates.

Iraq further accrued output from ​its confederate oilfields to astir 2.1 cardinal ​barrels per time arsenic much tankers enactment up to load crude from its Gulf ‌export terminals, 2 Iraqi lipid officials told ​Reuters.

Rabobank chopped its lipid terms ​forecasts, citing eased disruption risks successful the Gulf, and present sees Brent astatine $79 a tube successful the 3rd 4th and $78 successful the 4th quarter.

Geopolitical hazard persisted arsenic Lebanon's Hezbollah said Israeli ​forces opened occurrence connected civilians successful ‌southern Lebanon connected Tuesday and that the incidental violated the ceasefire statement betwixt the 2 ​sides.

(Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee and Pranav Mathur successful Bengaluru and Trixie Yap successful Singapore. ​Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Shri Navaratnam and Mark Potter)