Oil Prices Post Monthly Gains as Nuclear Talks Between US, Iran Continue

Oil prices rose by more than one dollar on Friday, February 27, 2026, recording monthly gains as traders continued to monitor the possibility of supply disruptions amid the extension of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran.

Brent crude futures increased by about $1.18, or 2.5%, settling at $72.50 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.81, or 2.78%, to close at $67.02 per barrel.

Both benchmarks are trading at their highest levels since July and August respectively, and are expected to post weekly gains of about 1.6% for Brent and 1.7% for WTI.

Latest Oil Prices: 

WTI Crude • 67.25 +2.04 +3.13%

Brent Crude • 73.13 +2.29 +3.23%

Murban Crude • 72.25 +1.21 +1.70%

Louisiana Light • 68.78 -0.31 -0.45%

Bonny Light • 78.62 -2.30 -2.84%

Opec Basket • 69.29 -0.40 -0.57%

Mars US • 69.53 -0.85 -1.21%

Gasoline • 2.068 +0.036 +1.77%

Natural Gas • 2.857 +0.030 +1.06%

Market analysts attributed the rise largely to geopolitical uncertainty surrounding the negotiations.

“The uncertainty is dominating, and fear is pushing prices higher today. This is entirely driven by the outcome of the nuclear talks and the possibility of US military action,” said Tamas Varga, an oil analyst at BVM brokerage.

Indirect talks between the United States and Iran were held in Geneva on Thursday, following reports that US military presence in the Middle East had been reinforced under orders from Donald Trump.

Oil prices had surged by more than one dollar per barrel during the negotiations after media reports suggested the talks had stalled due to Washington’s insistence that Iran halt uranium enrichment. Prices later retreated after the Omani mediator announced that progress had been made.

Badr Al Busaidi stated on the social media platform X that negotiations would resume at the technical level next week in Vienna.

Analyst Sofro Sarkar said the latest round of talks offers some hope for a peaceful resolution, though military strikes remain a possibility.

He added that geopolitical risk premiums, estimated between $8 and $10 per barrel, have been reflected in oil prices due to fears that any conflict could disrupt Middle East supplies through the Strait of Hormuz of global oil shipments.

Meanwhile, the OPEC+ group is expected to consider raising oil output by 137,000 barrels per day for April during its meeting scheduled for March 1, after pausing production increases during the first quarter,