Statements made by some officials regarding the decision by the Iranian government to review the proposals by the Five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany on Iran's nuclear program led to a reduction of crude prices in international markets on Tuesday, Central Bank of Iran (CBI) said in a report issued here Wednesday.
"The step also mitigated the concerns on supply shortage in world oil markets," it added, reports Trend.
The London Brent prices and US crude Benchmark index with 65 cents and 10 cents drop stood at dlrs 70.81 and dlrs 72.50 per barrel, respectively, Tuesday.
Secretary of Iran Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) has expressed hope that after studying the details of the proposals the two sides will resume talks to reach a "logical" and "moderate" phase.
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has also expressed optimism on paving the ground for nuclear talks while preserving Iran's legitimate rights.
But, on Tuesday given the expectation of inventory increases of US crude supplies in the week ending June 2, the purchases of dealers to cover shortage prevented the prices from plummeting, the report added.
Meanwhile, a solution to Iran's nuclear stand-off with the West would be a great benefit for everybody, said Austrian economy minister Dr Martin Bartenstein whose country holds the current EU Presidency.
"It would certainly mean one geo-political risk related to oil price less, and I would expect clearly a stabilizing effect, and I mean downwards not upwards,'' Bartenstein told a join press conference with OPEC official in Brussels Wednesday afternoon.
For his part, Dr Edmund Daukoru, OPEC President and Nigerian oil minister said the solution should remove one of the major factors creating uncertainty on the oil market.
"One would hope that reason will prevail among all parties concerned. There should be a basis for mutual solution to be found." "We have to cool the market,'' he added.
The third meeting of the EU-OPEC Energy Dialogue took place in Brussels Wednesday.