New Delhi, 20 March (H.S.): International crude oil prices have softened again today on hopeful signals from the United States and Israel that the Middle East war could be contained, even as tensions in the region remain high. Brent crude has slipped below $110 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is trading below $95 per barrel.

Brent crude opened at about $106.48 per barrel in early Asian trade, after touching near $119 per barrel on Thursday. Within minutes it slipped to around $104.96, before stabilising in the mid‑$106 range.

By about 11:30 am Indian time, Brent was hovering near $106.73 per barrel. Similarly, WTI crude opened at $93.69 per barrel, dipped to $92.47, and later recovered to trade at about $93.55 per barrel.Brent futures are now around $107.41 per barrel, down roughly 1.24 dollars (about 1.1%) from the previous close, while WTI futures have slipped to about $94.90 per barrel, off by roughly 1.26 dollars (around 1.3%).

Analysts say the cooling‑off in sentiment comes after Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signalled on Thursday that the conflict with Iran may not escalate further, and U.S. President Donald Trump stated that American ground forces will not be deployed in the regional war. In addition, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated that sanctions on Iranian oil already loaded in tankers may be eased and that the United States could release crude from its strategic petroleum reserves into the open market to curb runaway prices. These reassurances have lifted market expectations and eased the earlier surge in crude oil prices.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar