Crude oil futures settled down for second consecutive session on Wednesday ahead to nuclear talks between the United States and Iran in Geneva, Switzerland, later in the day. Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi has said that a deal with the United States to avert conflict is within reach and that the historic opportunity to strike an unprecedented agreement would depend on whether diplomacy is given priority. Traders took support with a report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showing a substantial rebound by U.S. crude oil inventories in the week ended February 20, 2026. The report said crude oil inventories spiked by 16.0 million barrels last week after tumbling by 9.0 million barrels in the previous week.  

Benchmark crude oil futures for April delivery fell $0.21 or 0.32% to settle at $65.42 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. However, Brent crude for April delivery rose $0.08 or 0.11% to settle at $70.85 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.