By Sam Li and Lewis Jackson
BEIJING, June 4 (Reuters) – Oil prices eased on Thursday as Israel and Lebanon’s ceasefire agreement boosted hopes for a broader deal to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, while the U.S. House approved a resolution seeking to curb President Donald Trump’s war powers.
Brent futures were down 67 cents, or 0.69%, at $97.14 a barrel by 0015 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 crude fell 62 cents, or 0.65%, to $95.4.
Both benchmarks rose about 2% on Wednesday, extending the previous session’s gains, after renewed Middle East hostilities including Iranian attacks on Kuwait and U.S. military strikes near the Strait of Hormuz.
In the U.S., the Republican-led House approved a resolution on Wednesday to block Trump from continuing the war against Iran. To take effect, the resolution would need Senate approval and two-thirds majorities in both chambers to override an almost certain Trump veto.
Trump suggested on Wednesday that there could be progress in negotiations with Iran as soon as this weekend.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on Wednesday said Tehran’s contacts with Washington have not been cut off, but no progress has been made in the negotiations, adding both sides were studying the texts that were exchanged.
Meanwhile, U.S. crude stockpiles fell by 8 million barrels to 433.7 million barrels in the week ended May 29, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. That compares with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 4-million-barrel draw.
Haitong Futures said in a note that oil prices are likely to move toward the upper end of their range due to a persistent supply-demand imbalance as global crude inventories fall rapidly.
(Reporting by Sam Li and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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