Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 11, 2026
3 min readLast updated: February 11, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleOil prices remain steady as US-Iran tensions persist, with geopolitical factors and inventory reports influencing market trends.
By Nicole Jao
NEW YORK, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Oil prices gained about 1% on Wednesday, as investors worried about escalating tensions between Iran and the U.S., which were preparing to resume negotiations, while a weekly report showing a large build in U.S. crude inventories limited gains.
Brent crude oil futures settled 60 cents, or 0.87%, higher at $69.40 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 67 cents, or nearly 1.05%, to $64.63.
"The market continues to be supported by the tension between the U.S. and Iran and the on-again, off-again talks that don't seem to lead to any resolution," said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates.
TRUMP SAYS 'NOTHING DEFINITIVE' DECIDED ON IRAN
U.S. President Donald Trump said nothing definitive was decided during his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday but that negotiations with Iran toward a deal would continue.
On Tuesday, Trump said he was considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East if a deal is not reached with Iran, even as Washington and Tehran prepared to resume talks.
U.S. and Iranian diplomats held indirect talks last week in Oman, amid a regional naval buildup by the U.S. threatening Iran. The date and venue of the next round of U.S.-Iran talks have yet to be announced.
"While rhetoric remains belligerent at times, there are no signs, at least for now, of escalation, and the U.S. President believes that Iran will ultimately want to strike a deal on its nuclear missile programme," PVM Oil Associates analyst Tamas Varga said in a note.
Also supporting oil prices, U.S. job growth unexpectedly accelerated in January and the unemployment rate fell to 4.3%, the Labor Department said, signaling a healthy economy.
"A resilient labor market underpins demand for transport fuels, petrochemicals and power generation, reducing downside risks to US consumption at a time when macro sentiment had turned cautious," Rystad Energy said in a note, adding that "labor market stability reinforces the view that the demand picture is firming up."
Limiting price gains, the U.S. crude inventories rose by 8.5 million barrels to 428.8 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said, far exceeding analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 793,000-barrel rise.
"Domestic production came back with a vengeance and not that far off the all-time record," said Robert Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho.
In the wider market, OPEC left its oil supply-demand expectations largely unchanged in its monthly report, but highlighted that global oil demand for the wider group's crude will drop by 400,000 bpd in the second quarter compared to the first.
Russian oil production edged down around 0.6% in January from December, per the report.
Egypt has directed international oil companies to double production by 2030, with existing contracts due to be revised to spur new investment, Energean International's country manager for Egypt told Reuters on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Nicole Jao in New York, Emily Chow and Siyi Liu in Singapore and Seher Dareen in London; Editing by Ros Russell, Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Tomasz Janowski, David Gregorio, Rod Nickel)
Brent crude oil is a major trading classification of crude oil originating from the North Sea. It serves as a benchmark for oil prices globally.
U.S. oil inventory refers to the stock of crude oil and petroleum products held in storage in the United States, which is monitored to gauge supply and demand.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is a grade of crude oil used as a benchmark in oil pricing. It is known for its high quality and low sulfur content.
Oil prices significantly affect the economy as they influence transportation costs, production expenses, and consumer prices, impacting overall economic growth.
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