Oil steady after Trump’s tariff reprieve and US-Iran talks

Brent crude was trading near $65 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was around $61 after a modest early climb.

Oil ticked lower as traders weighed the impact of Washington’s tariff exemptions for smartphones and other electronics and “constructive” weekend discussions between the US and Iran.

Brent crude was trading near $65 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was around $61 after a modest early climb.

Phones, computers and other popular consumer electronics were exempted from levies late on Friday — the first significant softening in Washington’s current trade conflict with Beijing — though US President Donald Trump later downplayed the move as procedural, and said on Sunday he would still apply tariffs to the sector.

Trump’s punitive levies have weighed on oil, with futures last week sinking to their lowest level since 2021 as traders fretted about the impact on global demand. An OPEC+ decision to bring back output more quickly than expected has added to the bearishness.

Easing tension with Iran, meanwhile, may offer hope of improved supply to key buyer China. Saturday’s US-Iran talks in Oman marked the first top-level engagement since 2022, and signaled a renewed effort to resolve years of standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program. Both nations have agreed to meet again in a week.