Oil rises slightly ahead of potential US-Iran talks

Oil prices gained on Tuesday as the market steadied after several days of declines, with investors awaiting developments on potential US-Iran talks at the United Nations General Assembly this week.

The Brent crude futures November contract gained 22 cents, or 0.22%, to USD 100.57 a barrel at 0021 GMT. The WTI October contract, which expires on Tuesday, crept up 2 cents, or 0.02%, to USD 95.8 a barrel.

The more actively traded November contract was up 13 cents, or 0.14%, at USD 92.49 a barrel.

Iran and the US exchanged threats on Sunday, though President Donald Trump said he would be open to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is expected to be in New York this week for the UN General Assembly.

"The move higher in WTI and the stronger open in Brent have the appearance of a typical short-covering bounce after the recent decline, rather than a fundamental shift," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.

"Traders who were positioned for further downside are taking some risk off the table while the diplomatic narrative plays out."

Over the weekend, Iran also conveyed its conditions to mediators for re-engaging in negotiations, Al Jazeera reported, citing Iran's security chief, Mohsen Rezaei.

Waterer added that prices were likely to remain range-bound and sensitive to headlines until there was either clear progress or a setback in diplomatic efforts between the United States and Iran.

Middle East tensions remained elevated after Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis said they attacked Riyadh and a Saudi Aramco facility in Yanbu and stepped up efforts to cut off Saudi-backed forces from the Red Sea coast.

China has privately urged Tehran to help curb attacks by the Houthis, three Iranian sources said, after Saudi Arabia appealed to Beijing following a recent surge in the group's military operations.

Aramco has increased exports through the Strait of Hormuz after attacks on its East-West Pipeline forced it to halt some shipments through Yanbu.

Saudi Aramco loaded about 14 million barrels of crude oil on seven supertankers inside the Gulf on Sunday, tanker tracking data showed.

Separately, Libya's National Oil Corp Chairman Massoud Suleman told Reuters on Monday that the country's Sharara oilfield has seen a partial reduction in production, without giving a reason.

(Reporting by Pranav Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)