[MARKET ANALYSIS] Crude wanes off highs amid further reports of diplomatic effects

In geopolitics, US President Trump said Iran talks were in the “final stages” but warned the US could get “a little bit nasty” if no deal is reached, while stressing sanctions relief would only come after an agreement. Iran said dialogue was continuing around its 14-point proposal, but rejected surrender, ultimatums or deadlines. Tehran is studying the American text and has not yet submitted its response. For a full recap, please refer to the 08:48 BST on the Newsquawk headline feed.
Pakistan’s Army Chief is due in Tehran on Thursday as mediation accelerates, with recent reports suggesting that work is underway on a framework for a temporary agreement between Tehran and Washington, which underpinned risk sentiment. Markets will likely await further updates on this front for impetus. In terms of the latest, the army chief is still in Pakistan, and his visit to Iran depends on the outcomes of the interior minister's visit, according to sources cited by Al Jazeera.
WTI and Brent crude futures are still modestly firmer but off their best levels following the aforementioned constructive geopolitical headlines. WTI Jul briefly topped USD 100/bbl before returning under the level, currently in a USD 98.04-100.11/bbl range. Brent Jul resides in a 104.72-106.80/bbl parameter. Dutch TTF is now softer by over 1%, with downticks also seen in light of the constructive US-Iran commentary.
Spot gold is contained to a USD 4,512-4,570/oz range, on a modestly softer footing intraday but off extremes as the yellow metal moves in lockstep with the USD, which is influenced by energy prices. Spot silver found intraday resistance at USD 77/bbl before printing a USD 74.67/oz low.
Base metals are lower despite the broader optimism from the US-Iran relatively flat DXY at the time of writing, whilst PMI data in Europe pointed to an overall bleak picture, with the data pointing to contractions in the EZ and the UK. 3M LME copper resides in a USD 13,477.65- 13,713.40/t range.