Oil prices fell on Friday and are on track to snap a two-week winning streak, despite settling \u200bhigher in the previous session following a report that U.S. \u200cPresident Donald Trump is not interested in returning to previous deal terms with Iran.<\/p>\n
Brandon Bell | Getty Images News | Getty Images<\/p>\n
Oil prices fell on Friday and are on track to snap a two-week winning streak, despite settling \u200bhigher in the previous session following a\u00a0report that U.S. \u200cPresident\u00a0Donald Trump\u00a0is not interested in returning to previous deal terms with\u00a0Iran.<\/p>\n
Brent crude futures<\/a> were down 25 cents, or 0.3%, to $89.45 a \u200bbarrel by 0035 GMT. West Texas Intermediate crude futures<\/a> \u200bfell 22 cents, also 0.3%, to $83.31.<\/p>\n Both benchmarks were \u2060poised to end the week lower, with Brent down 5.3% \u200band WTI falling 4.3%.<\/p>\n Citing people familiar with the matter, the \u200bWall Street Journal report said the Trump administration has repeatedly told mediators it has no interest in reviving the June memorandum of understanding, \u200bcomplicating diplomatic efforts to restart talks.<\/p>\n Earlier on Thursday, Washington \u200bsaid it was\u00a0not in talks\u00a0with Iran despite diplomatic efforts by other \u200ccountries \u2060to re-engage the two sides.<\/p>\n On Monday, the U.S. announced what it called the “toughest sanctions in history” on Iran. Tehran said the sanctions were an “inhumane and hostile act” that had lost \u200btheir effectiveness.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, geopolitical \u200btensions escalated \u2060after Moscow\u00a0warned\u00a0it could strike British military targets inside and outside Ukraine in response to \u200bKyiv’s attacks on Russian territory using British-supplied long-range \u200bcruise \u2060missiles.<\/p>\n Trump, however, said Russian President Vladimir Putin\u00a0will not attack\u00a0a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) country, and he downplayed media reports that \u2060CIA \u200bDirector John Ratcliffe this week had \u200bwarned Russian officials against such an attack. Britain is one of the founding \u200bmembers of NATO.<\/p>\n