Oil fell sharply, after a news report quoted sources as saying Iran and the United States were close to an interim deal that eases some sanctions on Tehran in return for cutting uranium enrichment .
price movement
At 1544 GMT, Brent prices fell $2.20, or 2.86%, to $74.64 a barrel, after falling $3 earlier in the session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude also fell $2.40, or 3.3%, to $70.12 a barrel, according to Reuters data.
A US executive order issued in 2018 reinstated sanctions targeting Iran’s oil, banking and transportation sectors, after former President Donald Trump’s administration withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal.
A publicity report said Tehran would be allowed to export up to one million barrels of oil a day and have its revenue and other funds frozen abroad in exchange for stopping some uranium enrichment activities.
“The deal seems more likely than not,” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho.
The higher-than-expected rise in U.S. gasoline inventories raised demand concerns, while U.S. crude inventories edged down 451,000 barrels.
At an OPEC+ group meeting on Sunday, Saudi Arabia said it would cut crude production by 1 million barrels a day in July, on top of a broader deal to cut supplies until July. 2024, as the group seeks to stabilize the oil market.
“With the end of the OPEC+ meeting, attention now turns to the next step the Fed will take at its meeting next week,” said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM.
Varga added that there is a growing consensus that the U.S. central bank will not raise interest rates, which could push oil prices higher even before dwindling supplies begin to deplete reserves. world oil stocks.
Economists polled by Reuters expect the Federal Reserve to refrain from raising interest rates at its June 13-14 meeting, but few expect at least one more hike this year.
However, the sudden rise in interest rates announced by Canada reminded investors for the second time this week that the rise in global interest rates is far from over.
Both benchmarks posted an increase of around 1% in Wednesday’s settlement, supported by Saudi Arabia’s plans to make significant production cuts, but price gains remained limited due to the high US fuel inventories and weak Chinese export data.
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