Oil prices declined as recovering Gulf exports and a surprise increase in US crude inventories eased concerns about supply disruptions. Brent crude futures fell 1.1% to $96.92 a barrel by 0420 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate dropped 1.4% to $89.18. Both benchmarks had risen about $1 a barrel on Wednesday. Brent gained around 14% in September, its biggest monthly increase since July, while WTI rose about 5%. Saudi Arabia resumed tanker loadings from Yanbu after restarting operations on its East-West Pipeline. US crude inventories increased by 922,000 barrels to 427.3 million barrels in the week ended September 25, contrasting with a Reuters poll forecast for a 264,000-barrel draw, the Energy Information Administration (U.S. energy data agency) said. Renewed US-Iran diplomatic engagement could reduce the geopolitical risk premium, although a breakthrough remains uncertain. Iran said it had received a US response to its proposal to revive the collapsed Gulf ceasefire, while US President Donald Trump denied reports that he was willing to offer sanctions relief and release frozen Iranian funds in exchange for concrete nuclear-related steps by Tehran. Goldman Sachs estimated Gulf oil exports, including dark exports from ships with location transponders turned off, had recovered to 23.3 million barrels per day over the previous week, matching the 2025 average. OPEC+ oil-producing countries are likely to keep November production targets unchanged when they meet on Sunday.