Crude oil price declined on expectation of Donald-Rouhani meeting
WTI crude oil futures fell 2.75% to $55.84 a barrel
(Web Desk) – WTI prices were jittery on Wednesday morning, rising initially, but falling back below yesterday s lows, after headlines suggesting Bolton was fired after disagreeing with Trump s desire to ease Iran sanctions to get a meeting with Rouhani.
As Bloomberg reports, President Trump discussed easing sanctions on Iran to help secure a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani later this month, prompting now former National Security Advisor John Bolton to erupt, and "argue forcefully" against such a step, according to the report.
More notably, there already was support for de-escalation of sanctions with Iran, because during the Monday Oval Office meeting, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin voiced his support for the move as a way to restart negotiations with Iran, the Bloomberg sources said. At this point, Bolton exploded.
WTI crude oil futures fell 2.75% to $55.84 a barrel, while Brent crude fell 2.5% to $60.83 a barrel.
As Bloomberg further notes, the White House has started preparations for Trump to meet with Rouhani this month in New York on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly the week of Sept. 23, according to the people. It’s far from clear if the Iranians would agree to talks while tough American sanctions remain in place.
Meanwhile, “It’s too hard to say if a meeting will happen given the question of whether it’s politically palatable for both leaders,” said Kupchan. “But the likelihood of a meeting has gone up because one of its main detractors is now out of a job.”
Top Iranian officials have in recent weeks sought to stamp out talk of a direct meeting between the leaders, with Zarif calling it “unimaginable” and Rouhani saying he’s not interested in a photo-op with the American president. That’s a subtle reference to America’s outreach with North Korea, which despite three meetings between Trump and Kim Jong Un hasn’t resulted in any breakthrough.
