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TOKYO\/SINGAPORE: Oil prices fell more than $2 a barrel on Wednesday as talks between Iran and Oman \u200crevived hopes that the Strait of Hormuz could reopen and remove shipping constraints affecting supply in the key Middle East region.<\/strong><\/p>\n Brent crude futures fell $2.30, or 2.6%, to $86.28 a barrel by 0447 GMT, earlier dropping to their lowest since August 13. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude \u200bfutures were down $2.08, or 2.53%, at $80.29, earlier sinking to their lowest since August 10.<\/p>\n Both benchmarks fell more \u200bthan 3% on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cThe market continues to react to developments surrounding navigation through the Strait \u2060of Hormuz, and hopes for progress in talks between Iran and Oman have triggered selling,\u201d said Mitsuru Muraishi, \u200ban analyst at Fujitomi Securities.<\/p>\n \u201cThat said, uncertainty over the outlook has prompted bargain buying, limiting further losses, and prices \u200bare likely to remain range-bound for the time being,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Iran said it had restarted talks with Oman to manage the strait as it faces heightened economic pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n Iran and Oman have been in on-and-off talks for weeks about controlling \u200btraffic through the waterway, which handled one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the U.S.-Israeli war \u200bagainst Iran began in February.<\/p>\n The two countries said on Tuesday that they discussed \u201ca joint temporary navigational corridor\u201d through the strait and agreed \u200cto clear \u2060it of mines.<\/p>\n Amid the talks, ship traffic through Hormuz remains lower. Only five commodity vessels \u2014 two liquefied petroleum gas tankers and a bitumen tanker exiting and two empty product tankers \u2014 transited the waterway on Tuesday, preliminary data from shiptracker Kpler showed, down from the 10-day average of 15 and well below pre-war levels.<\/p>\n Talks on an overall \u200bend to the conflict also \u200bcontinue. Pakistan and Iran \u2060made \u201csignificant progress\u201d in talks that focused on the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and a path to peace, Pakistan\u2019s interior minister said on Tuesday, at the end of a \u200bvisit to Tehran.<\/p>\n On Monday, Washington expanded sanctions aimed at cutting off Iran\u2019s economic lifeline, threatening \u200bto punish \u2060countries that continue to do business with Tehran, though it said it would not impose penalties immediately.<\/p>\n In the U.S., the American Petroleum Institute reported crude oil inventories rose by about 4.2 million barrels in the week ended August 21, market sources \u2060said.<\/p>\n Analysts \u200bpolled by Reuters estimated crude oil stockpiles would rise by about 600,000 barrels \u200bon average. Official data from the EIA, the statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, are due at 10:30 a.m. ET (1430 GMT) \u200bon Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n