Brent holds above $102 and Mexico's export blend closes at 97.66

Brent crude was trading at $102.20 a barrel on Thursday, September 24, according to OilPrice, after closing the previous day at $103.08, a 3.86% gain reported by El Economista. Mexico's export blend stood at $97.66 on Wednesday, and the Strait of Hormuz remains restricted, with indirect talks between the United States and Iran making no progress.

The talks resumed on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, without concrete results. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told that forum that Tehran would 'never surrender,' though he maintained that the diplomatic path remains open, and that Iran will not allow free navigation through Hormuz while U.S. sanctions and blockade continue, according to Bloomberg Línea. Iran's conditions include lifting the naval blockade on its ports, ending sanctions and unfreezing assets, according to OilPrice. Iran's security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, said the strait will not reopen until those conditions are met. For exporters in the region, Brent sets the tone: Mexico's export blend closed Wednesday up 2.32% at $97.66, according to El Economista.

The effect spills over into natural gas. The Dutch TTF (Title Transfer Facility, Europe's benchmark) reference price rose 4% at Thursday's open in Amsterdam and was holding 3% higher at $84.30 per megawatt-hour, according to OilPrice. Fitch Ratings raised its TTF price assumptions because of disruptions to liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows through Hormuz, a route that accounted for 20% of global supply before the conflict, and European storage is at two-thirds capacity, according to the agency cited by OilPrice. Buyers in Asia and Europe are competing for cargoes that do not depend on the strait. In the fuels market, diesel futures fell 4.1%, and U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the administration is working with refineries to reduce exports voluntarily, according to Bloomberg Línea.

The next signal lies in the round of indirect talks and in whether Hormuz reopens. It also lies in Europe's gas storage levels, with winter approaching, and in the geopolitical premium that keeps Brent above $100 and Mexico's blend near $98.

This article was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence based on verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.