NEW YORK, July 10 (Reuters) - Grades largely eased on Friday, dealers said, as the end of tit-for-tat air strikes and the promise of renewed talks between the U.S. and Iran next week raised hopes that shipping would resume through the Strait of Hormuz, while a report showed that U.S. drillers did not add any oil rigs last week.
Qatari negotiators are in Iran to meet Iranian officials in an effort to de-escalate tensions and create conditions for broader negotiations to continue, a source with knowledge of the situation told Reuters on Friday, adding that the talks were being conducted in coordination with the United States.
But risks remain, and an escalation of hostilities between the U.S. and Iran could upend the International Energy Agency's forecast of a significant oil market surplus next year, it said on Friday.
U.S. oil refiners, however, have increased refining capacity by 125,000 barrels per day, with only 270,000 bpd of capacity expected to be offline for the week ending July 10, research company IIR Energy estimated on Friday.
Drawdowns of barrels from the U.S. strategic reserves over the past few weeks have kept the market well supplied.
Separately, a closely watched report from Baker Hughes on Friday said the United States kept steady its oil rig count at 445 in the week to July 10. Oil and gas rig counts are an early indicator of future output.
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