US-Iran deal hopes keep WTI under pressure below $85

• The 10-week low of $84.25 remains close as hopes of a US-Iran agreement weigh on oil prices.
• Fresh military strikes against Iran are “highly unlikely”, according to US President Trump.
• Limits on funding for the Iran war would be sought by Democrats, the party has indicated.

A 1.5% decline leaves West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures on NYMEX trading just below $85.00 in Tuesday’s Asian session. Prices remain near Monday’s 10-week low of $84.25.

Growing optimism over an agreement between the United States (US) and Iran has put oil prices under considerable selling pressure.

Oil sentiment stabilises as US-Iran exchanges become less confrontational

A softer tone from Washington gave investor optimism a further lift over the weekend, according to analysts at MUFG. President Trump told CNN that, provided negotiations continue to advance, it is “highly unlikely” he will need to authorise further military strikes against Iran. However, MUFG points out that Trump also made the outcome conditional on the quality of a deal, saying “it depends on whether or not they sign a very strong agreement,” a qualification the bank regards as essential to sustaining the recent decline in geopolitical risk premia.

Since Democrats won both the House and the Senate in the United States (US) midterm elections, energy prices have come under intense pressure. The result also fuelled optimism about a US-Iran agreement, amid expectations that Democrats would restrict Washington’s funding for further military action against Iran.

The Hill reported that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said last week: “We are going to end the war. We have some Republicans already who have joined us in ending the war, and the Founding Fathers had the power of the purse as one of the ways of deterring a president who does war without the consent of the American people,”

WTI Remains Bearish on the Technical Chart

At $84.81 on the daily chart, WTI US Oil retains a bearish near-term outlook. Following the recent retreat from above $100, prices remain well below the 20-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) of $93.36, with overhead trend resistance limiting the market. A fresh lower low following the break beneath the 6 October low of $86.32 reinforces that bearish bias.

With a reading of 34, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) sits just above oversold territory. This indicates that downward momentum persists, although any easing in selling pressure could slow the decline.

Any recovery would face initial hurdles at the 6 October low of $86.32 and $90.00, followed by the 20-day EMA at $93.36 as the final resistance level. On the downside, the 28 August high of $83.11 provides key support, followed by the 26 August low of $79.28.

(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool. Know more.)