Oil rises slightly ahead of potential US-Iran talks

Sept 22 (Reuters) - Oil prices gained ‌on Tuesday as ​the market ​steadied after several days of declines, with investors awaiting developments on potential US-Iran talks at the United Nations General Assembly this week.

The Brent crude futures ‌November contract gained 22 cents, or 0.22%, to $100.57 a barrel at 0021 ⁠GMT. The WTI October contract, which expires on Tuesday, crept up 2 cents, or 0.02%, to $95.8 a barrel.

The ‌more actively traded November contract was ‌up 13 cents, or 0.14%, at $92.49 a barrel.

Iran and the US exchanged threats on Sunday, though President Donald Trump said he would be open to meeting Iranian President ​Masoud Pezeshkian, who is expected to be in New York this week for the UN General Assembly.

"The move higher in WTI and the stronger open in Brent have the ⁠appearance of a typical short-covering bounce after the recent decline, rather than a fundamental shift," said Tim Waterer, chief market ​analyst at KCM Trade.

"Traders who were positioned for further downside are taking some risk off the table while the diplomatic narrative plays out."

Over ​the weekend, Iran also conveyed its conditions to mediators ‌for re-engaging in negotiations, Al Jazeera reported, citing Iran's security chief, Mohsen Rezaei.

Waterer added that prices were likely to remain range-bound and sensitive ⁠to headlines until there was either clear progress or a setback in diplomatic efforts between the United States and Iran.

Middle East tensions remained elevated after Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis said they attacked Riyadh and a ⁠Saudi Aramco facility in Yanbu and stepped up efforts to cut off Saudi-backed forces from the Red ​Sea coast.

China has privately urged Tehran to help curb attacks by the Houthis, three Iranian sources said, after Saudi Arabia appealed to Beijing following a recent surge in the group's military operations.

Aramco has increased ‌exports through the Strait of Hormuz after attacks on its East-West Pipeline forced it to halt some shipments through Yanbu.

Saudi Aramco loaded about ‌14 million barrels of crude oil on seven supertankers inside the Gulf on Sunday, tanker tracking ⁠data showed.

Separately, Libya's National Oil Corp ‌Chairman Massoud Suleman told Reuters ​on Monday that the country's Sharara oilfield has seen a partial reduction in production, without giving a reason.

(Reporting by Pranav Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by ‌Thomas Derpinghaus)

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