Oil falls 4% on Iran diplomacy progress; Nigeria energy inflation hits 10.85%

Brent crude fell 4.5% to $118.30 per barrel and WTI dropped 4.37% to $99.57 on Monday as Iranian-Qatari diplomatic talks entered a third day, easing fears of wider Middle East conflict disrupting oil supplies. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi described negotiations with Qatari mediators as "ongoing and progressing," while Axios reports President Trump prefers diplomacy over military action, telling Netanyahu to let talks play out.

This reverses October's rally—Brent hit $117.30 on Oct 30 amid escalating US-Israel-Iran tensions and Houthi attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure. The decline reflects market optimism that diplomacy could prevent further supply shocks, though attacks on vessels near the Strait of Hormuz continue.

For Nigeria, the stakes are immediate: energy inflation more than doubled to 10.85% year-on-year in September (from 4.69% in August), per NBS data. Niger banned petrol and diesel exports in October to secure domestic supply, while the UNDP projects global fossil-fuel subsidies could top $1 trillion this year as governments cushion consumers. Whether Monday's crude drop translates to lower pump prices remains uncertain—Nigeria's pricing mechanism and subsidy regime mean global declines don't automatically pass through.

With energy costs squeezing households and businesses, are you factoring potential fuel price shifts into your Q4 budget, or waiting for official pronouncements?

SOURCE: https://nairametrics.com/2026/11/02/oil-prices-plunge-over-4-as-hopes-of-us-iran-war-deal-rise/