PERTH: Oil prices fell in early trade on Friday on optimism the ​Middle East conflict ⁠could be nearing an end after a 10-day ceasefire between ‌Lebanon and Israel took effect and President Donald Trump said the U.S. and Iran ​may meet for talks on the weekend.

Brent crude futures declined by $1.34, ​or 1.35%, to $98.05 ​a barrel at 0021 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell $1.65, or 1.74%, to $93.40 a barrel, trimming gains from the ⁠previous session.

Addressing a key sticking point in talks to end the Iran war, which has closed the Strait of Hormuz for seven weeks and choked off roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil ​supply, Trump said ‌Tehran had ⁠offered not to ⁠possess nuclear weapons for more than 20 years.

"We're going to see what ​happens. But I think we're very close to ‌making a deal with Iran," Trump ⁠told reporters outside the White House on Thursday.

Oil prices climbed 50% in March in a record run and have only recently fallen below the $100 per barrel mark but have stayed within the $90 range for the week.

Israel's campaign in Lebanon has been a major obstacle to securing a peace deal sought by Trump to end the war on Iran he launched with Israel in late ‌February.

U.S. and Iranian negotiators have scaled back their expectations ⁠for a comprehensive peace deal and are ​instead seeking a temporary memorandum to prevent a return to conflict, two Iranian sources told Reuters on Thursday.

Analysts from ING estimate that roughly ​13 million ‌barrels per day of oil flow has been ⁠disrupted by the closure of ​the Strait. (Reporting by Helen Clark; Editing by Sonali Paul)