The US State Department, however, denied a report by Iran International, a London-based television station, that Tehran and Washington had agreed in principle to reviving the deal.
“Iran and the US have reached an agreement (on revival of JCPOA), and it will be announced in the next two or three weeks," the television station reported, quoting an unidentified former official of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA.
The JCPOA, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, is the official description for the 2015 Iran nuclear deal hatched between Tehran and six global powers, under the aegis of the Obama administration. Donald Trump, the US president after Barack Obama, canceled the JCPOA in 2018 and put sanctions on Iranian oil. President Joe Biden, who succeeded Trump, has allowed negotiations with Iran since last year to revive the deal.
Iran International’s report accelerated a selloff in crude futures traded in New York and London.
Brent crude, the London-traded global benchmark for oil, settled down $5.78, or 5.5%, at $99.31 per barrel, after falling more than $6 earlier to a session low of $96.64. Brent closed Monday's session up almost 4%.
New York-traded West Texas Intermediate crude, the benchmark for US crude, settled down $5.37, or 5.5%, at $91.64 per barrel after a session low was $90.56. Just a day earlier, WTI jumped 4.2%.
Adding to the pressure on oil were reports in Russian media that producer alliance OPEC+ was not discussing the possibility of production cuts yet.
Oil prices jumped almost $4 or 4% in the previous session as buyers plowed into the market on expectations of production cuts by the 23 countries in OPEC+.
OPEC+ — comprising the 13-member Saudi-led Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and ten oil producing allies steered by Russia — is to meet on Sept. 5.