Oil prices fall 5% to two-week low on hopes for US-Iran conflict easing

July 28 : Oil prices dropped 5 per cent on Tuesday to a two-week low, on cautious hopes for a resolution to the Iran war as traders assessed developments in the Middle East.Brent futures fell $4.61, or 5.2 per cent, to $83.75 a barrel at 12:01 p.m. EDT (1601 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $4.06, or 4.9 per cent, to $78.55.After dropping about 17 per cent over three days, both crude benchmarks were on track for their lowest closes since July 13.Oman has presented Iran with a plan backed by Gulf states to manage the Strait of Hormuz, including collecting voluntary fees for using it, a Gulf source and a Western diplomat told Reuters. A senior Iranian source told Reuters that Tehran had yet to respond to the Omani proposals, intended to serve as a basis to end the disrupti