Oil prices rose on Wednesday in volatile trading on concerns that the United States will not consider additional concessions to Iran in its response to a draft agreement that would restore Tehran’s nuclear deal, and potentially the Opec’s member’s crude exports.

Iran said it had received a response from the United States to the EU’s “final” text for revival of Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with major powers. Brent crude rose 98 cents to $101.20 a barrel by 19:00GMT. US crude rose $1.25 cents to $94.98 a barrel.

Both benchmarks fell more than $1 earlier in the session. Oil was also supported after Saudi Arabia suggested this week that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries could consider cutting output, though bearish economic signals from central bankers and falling equities weighed.

Both crude oil benchmark contracts touched three-week highs earlier on Wednesday after the Saudi energy minister flagged the possibility of cutting production.

Opec sources later told Reuters that any cuts by the producer group and its allies, known collectively as OPEC+, are likely to coincide with a return of Iranian oil to the market should Tehran secure a nuclear deal with world powers

US clean chit

There is “no evidence” of Indian companies circumventing the US-led sanctions on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, a senior Biden administration official said on Wednesday.

“I’ve seen no evidence of Indian companies circumventing sanctions that have been placed on Russia,” US deputy Secretary of treasury Wally Adeyemo said during a visit to IIT-Bombay.

Nayara concern

Many global oil traders and banks have stopped dealing with Indian refiner Nayara Energy, a Rosneft affiliate, as they are worried about Western sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Nayara per se has not been sanctioned but sanctions are in place against Rosneft. The Russian energy giant owns about 49 per cent of Nayara