Oil surges 1% after Iran says no nuclear material will leave the country

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Concerns about tanker attacks persist in the Strait of Hormuz; drone attack causes fire at Russian Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga ...

Oil prices rose about 1 per cent on Wednesday from the previous session's two-month lows, after Iran's security chief said Tehran would not allow even a single particle of enriched nuclear material to leave the country.

Washington has said nuclear matters must be part of any initial negotiations with Tehran aimed at ending the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Brent futures were up $1.28, or 1.4 per cent, to $92.77 a barrel at 0934 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 76 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to $86.80.

In the previous session, oil prices initially fell by more than $3 a barrel after US officials played down the need for further military strikes against Iran. Prices later pared some losses after an Iranian security official said no talks were taking place between the two sides.

"Oil prices are being supported by fading hopes of an imminent de-escalation," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.

There is little sign of attacks in the Strait of Hormuz easing after 37 ships were attacked in October, the highest monthly total since the start of the war, according to data from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

"There has been an increase of vessel attacks in the Gulf shipping lanes amidst uncertainty of the diplomacy talks," said June Goh, senior analyst at Sparta Commodities.

She added that the key driver for the market was whether Iran would engage with US demands to reach a diplomatic agreement.

A tanker was struck northeast of Lima in Oman, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said on Tuesday. Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy said separately on Tuesday that two tankers caught fire after hitting naval mines on an "unauthorized route" in the strait.

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