Oil prices fell on Friday after Donald Trump said the US would not attack Iran before the November midterm elections. Brent crude futures fell 0.7 per cent to $103.53 a barrel. US WTI crude fell 0.6 per cent to $90.97.

Trump said Washington was having ‘productive discussions’ with Iran. His comments eased fears of fresh disruption to Middle East oil supplies. Iran’s Tasnim news agency said Tehran was reviewing the US response to its proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days.

The fall came a day after prices surged. Brent had settled 4.1 per cent higher on Thursday at $104.27. WTI had closed 4.1 per cent up at $91.87.

The US imposed fresh sanctions on Thursday. They target 17 vessels and networks moving Iranian crude, oil products and petrochemicals.

The war is in its eighth month. Before the war, the Strait of Hormuz carried about 20 per cent of the world’s oil and fuel. Hurricane Isaias also shut in 1.3 million barrels a day of US Gulf output.

The oil market also faces Hurricane Isaias in the Gulf of Mexico. Producers have shut in about 1.3 million barrels a day of output.