Texas Oil Rises 1% After Trump Defends Negotiated Solution with Iran

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil rose 1% this Wednesday, to $64.63 a barrel, after US President Donald Trump defended that he still prefers a negotiated solution to limit Iran's nuclear program. EFE At the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange, futures contracts for WTI for March delivery added $0.67 compared to the previous close. The crude oil market remains attentive to the evolution of US-Iran relations after they resumed talks last week following a round of indirect negotiations in Oman. Negotiations between the two countries stalled last June after the US bombed Iranian nuclear facilities. Trump assured after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his 'preference' remains to reach an agreement with Iran. The US president accused the Islamic Republic of having prevented a nuclear deal in last year's negotiations and recalled that the United States carried out Operation Midnight Hammer then, in which it bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities. 'Let's hope they are more reasonable and responsible this time,' he assured in a message on his social network, Truth Social. Despite the small drop on Tuesday, crude oil continues to accumulate upward sessions motivated by geopolitical tensions that could affect the business of Iranian oil, one of the main exporters of the OPEC alliance. Particularly influential are Trump's threats to intervene militarily in Iran if an agreement is not reached, accompanied by the deployment of a fleet led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in waters near Iran. OPEC announced this Wednesday that it maintains its forecasts for global oil demand growth for this year and next. The organization predicted 'healthy' growth in global oil demand in 2026.