Oil prices climb as Trump denies offering Iran sanctions relief; Qatar pushes for peace talks

Oil prices moved higher early Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump denied reports that he had offered sanctions relief to Iran in exchange for concessions from Tehran on its nuclear program. The president in a Truth Social post dismissed an Axios report that indicated he was willing to give Tehran sanctions relief and release frozen Iranian funds in return for "concrete steps" on its nuclear program. "This is untrue. I offered them NOTHING!," Trump wrote, dismissing the Axios story, as a "HOAX." Brent crude , the international price benchmark, was trading at $103.09 per barrel at 2:00 a.m. E.T., a 0.49% rise. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were up 0.18% at $89.53 a barrel.