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Iran commits to nuclear treaty, oil falls

Oil futures dropped on Friday as Iran reaffirmed their commitment to non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and amid expectations major producers will agree to increase their output this weekend.

Brent crude futures fell 22 cents or 0.32% to $68.58 a barge by 0445 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude dropped 12 cents or 0.18% to $66.88.

The U.S. Independence Day is a holiday.

The U.S. news site Axios reported Thursday that the U.S. planned to meet with Iran to restart nuclear talks next week, while Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi stated that Tehran remains committed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The threat of renewed hostilities has been significantly reduced by the news on Thursday that the U.S. was preparing to resume its nuclear talks with Iran and Araqchi’s clarification that cooperation between the U.N. Atomic Agency had not been stopped, said Vandana hari, founder of the oil market analysis company Vanda Insights.

Araqchi made his comments a day after Tehran passed a law that suspended cooperation with the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Hari stated that "but the price correction might have to wait until Monday, when U.S. reopens after a long weekend, and takes into account Sunday's OPEC+ decisions, which are likely to be another 411, 000 barrels per daily target increase in August."

Four delegates told Reuters that OPEC+ - the world's biggest group of oil producers - is planning to increase production by 411,000 bpd for August in order to regain market shares.

As the 90-day hiatus on increased levy rates nears its end, there is renewed uncertainty about U.S. tariff policy.

Washington will begin sending letters to other countries this Friday, detailing the tariff rates that they will be facing on goods shipped to the United States. This is a significant shift from previous pledges to negotiate dozens of trade agreements.

Donald Trump, before leaving for Iowa on Thursday, told reporters that tariffs of 20-30% would be applied to 10 countries.

Trump's 90 day pause in raising U.S. Tariffs ends on the 9th of July, and many large trading partners are yet to sign trade agreements. This includes the European Union and Japan.

Treasury Department: The U.S. announced sanctions against Hezbollah and a network of smugglers who smuggle Iranian oil in Iraqi oil.

Media reports say that Prince Khalid bin Salman, the Saudi Arabian Minister of Defense, met President Trump at the White House to discuss deescalation efforts against Iran.

Trump said Thursday that he will meet with Iranian representatives "if necessary".

Barclays also raised its Brent crude oil forecast for 2025 by $10 per barrel to $70, and by $6 per barrel to $72 for 2026 due to an improved outlook on demand. Mohi Nairayan reported from New Delhi, and Florence Tan from Singapore. Arathy Sommesekhar contributed additional reporting in Houston. Tom Hogue edited the story.

(source: Reuters)