U.S. energy services firm Baker Hughes' North American oil and natural gas rig count report scheduled for July 10 has been delayed. Officials at the company were not immediately available for comment on the reason for the delay. The widely read report, which the energy industry uses as an early indicator of future oil and gas output, usually comes out on the Baker Hughes website and app around 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT) on Fridays. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Mark Porter) [Read more]

Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said that Tehran was ready for "all-out defence" if Washington betrayed last month's memorandum of understanding, and the war would never end with Iran's surrender. Qalibaf, speaking during a meeting with Ahmad Muzani, speaker of Indonesia's People's Consultative Assembly, said he had told the U.S. vice president during negotiations that Tehran did not trust Washington and that, in his view, only those prepared for war could negotiate with the United [Read more]

President Donald Trump on Friday said the United States had agreed to talks with Iran after Tehran asked to continue negotiations, while stressing that the June ceasefire between the two nations was over. "The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue 'talks.' We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!" Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. The U.S. and Iran traded strikes this week, with the Iranian armed [Read more]

Daily tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz appeared to have slowed on Friday, after the U.S. and Iran exchanged hostilities this week and renewed their arguments over who was in control of passage through the critical waterway. The attacks renewed concerns about the recovery of global oil supplies and shipping, and highlighted the fragility of an interim truce while the U.S. and Iran hammer out a lasting agreement. Oil prices eased on Friday but remained on track for weekly gains of 4-5% [Read more]

A recent escalation of hostilities between the U.S. and Iran could upend the International Energy Agency's forecast of a significant oil market surplus next year, it said on Friday, as global supply jumped in June when the Strait of Hormuz reopened but still lagged pre-war levels. Global oil markets received some respite last month as a peace agreement between the U.S. and Iran facilitated the opening of the Strait, the effective closure of which had taken out as much as 14 million barrels [Read more]

The discount on Western Canada Select crude oil to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures narrowed on Thursday. WCS for August delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $14.30 a barrel below the U.S. benchmark WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, compared to $14.40 on Wednesday. * The discount remains significantly wider than it was in June, due to the partial reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the ongoing weakness in China's import appetite, which is hurting demand for [Read more]