WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil prices moved sharply higher earlier on Thursday but have given back ground over the course of the trading session.
After surging by as much as $1.29 or 2 percent to $66.71 a barrel, crude for April delivery was last seen trading down by $0.11 or 0.2 percent at $65.31 barrel.
The sharp pullback by the price of crude oil came after Oman's Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said in a post on X that 'significant progress' was made in the third round of nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.
Albusaidi said negotiations between the two countries will 'resume soon after consultation in the respective capitals' and revealed 'discussions on a technical level will take place next week in Vienna.'
The comments from Albusaidi who was mediating the discussions between U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, have eased concerns about a potential military conflict.
Ahead of the meeting, the U.S. imposed sanctions on more than 30 individuals, companies and vessels linked to Tehran's oil trade.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran possessed a very large number of ballistic missiles that threaten U.S. interests in the region and it was trying to develop weapons that can reach the continental United States.
Vice President JD Vance said Tehran should take Washington's threats of military action seriously.
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