Muscat: Oil prices edged higher at the start of trading today, recouping some of the losses from the previous session as investors assessed whether the war with Iran may truly be drawing to a close. Brent crude futures rose 47 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $79.43 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 48 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $76.53 a barrel.

According to Oman News Agency, both benchmarks tumbled about five percent on Tuesday for a second straight session, hitting three-month lows amid hopes that a US-Iran agreement would pave the way for oil supplies to resume. Separately, the American Petroleum Institute reported that US crude inventories fell by 8.3 million barrels in the week ending June 12, well above expectations of a 4.6 million barrel draw. Official figures from the Energy Information Administration are due later today.