LONDON (Archyde.com) – Oil prices rose on Thursday, close to $120 a barrel, their highest level in nearly a decade, as sanctions hampered Russian oil sales, but the rally lost some of its momentum as prospects for an Iranian nuclear deal rose. Which may add supply to the market.
Brent crude prices rose to $119.84 a barrel, the highest level since 2012, and their prices received support from data that showed that US crude stocks reached their lowest level in years. But by 14:16 GMT, Brent crude had fallen to $112.75 a barrel. Brent has jumped by more than a third over the past month.
West Texas Intermediate crude rose to $116.57 a barrel, the highest level since 2008, before falling back to $109.66 a barrel.
Prices reversed course in early US trade following an Iranian reporter said on Twitter that a breakthrough had been made in talks aimed at reviving the Iran nuclear deal, which might mean the Islamic Republic’s oil might return to the market.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency is scheduled to visit Iran on Saturday, raising the prospects of an agreement.
Oil’s gains came earlier on Thursday following the latest round of US sanctions on Russia’s refining sector, raising fears that Russian oil and gas exports might be next targeted.
The OPEC Plus bloc, which includes member states of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, decided to increase production to the amount agreed upon in the production agreement, which is 400,000 barrels per day in March, despite the increase in prices and consumers’ demands for more crude.
