Oil Prices Lower in Asian Trade as Iran Ties Thaw

Oil prices edged lower in Asian trade Thursday after an unexpected surge in U.S. crude stockpiles and fresh signs of warming relations between the West and crude producer Iran, analysts said.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in November, was down 36 cents at $102.30 in mid-morning trade, while Brent North Sea crude for November eased 24 cents to $108.08.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday that U.S. crude reserves soared 2.6 million barrels in the week ending September 20. Analysts on average had expected a drop of 900,000.

"The surge in U.S. crude inventories was not expected at all, and it has dampened oil prices along with the removal of the risk premium surrounding Syria," Desmond Chua, market analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore, told Agence France Presse.

Prices were also under pressure following fresh signs of thawing U.S.-Iran relations, which could possibly lead to an easing of Western sanctions on the crude producer, allowing it to export oil more freely.

Iran's economy has been crippled by a series of U.N. and U.S. sanctions aimed at bringing an end to its nuclear program, which the West claims is being used to develop nuclear weapons. Iran denies the assertion.

On Thursday U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif will hold talks on Tehran's nuclear program, the highest level meeting between since the Islamic Republic's 1979 revolution.

In an interview with the Washington Post published Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said he hoped to reach an agreement on the issue within three months, insisting he had the full backing of the country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to broker a deal.