US oil prices rise as investors assess Middle East de-escalation

U.S. oil prices rose in early trade on Thursday, recovering some of the previous day’s losses as investors assessed prospects for de-escalation in the Middle East and Iran reviewed a U.S. proposal ‌to ⁠end the ⁠war, which has disrupted energy flows from the Gulf. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed more than $1 to $91.42 a barrel at the open and were up 93 cents, or 1%, at $91.25 a barrel as of 2225 GMT.

WTI ⁠lost 2.2% ‌on Wednesday.

Iran is still reviewing a U.S. proposal to end the war ⁠in the Gulf despite an initial response that was negative, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday, indicating that Tehran had so far stopped short of rejecting it outright.

U.S. President Donald Trump will hit Iran harder if Tehran fails to ‌accept that the country has been “defeated militarily,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

Iranian officials publicly scorned ⁠the prospect of any negotiations with the Trump administration. But an apparent delay in delivering a formal response to Pakistan, which delivered a 15-point proposal on behalf of Washington, appeared to signal that at least some figures in Tehran may be considering it.