Oil posts weekly gain on Iran sanctions, OPEC+ plan to rein in overproduction
Oil prices rose on Friday, posting their second consecutive weekly gains, after fresh U.S. sanctions on Iran and a new OPEC+ plan for seven members to cut output raised bets on tightening supply.
Brent crude futures climbed 16 cents, or 0.22%, to close at $72.16 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 21 cents, or 0.31%, to settle at $68.28 a barrel. On a weekly basis, Brent gained 2.24% and WTI rose rise 1.64%.
The United States Treasury on Thursday announced new Iran-related sanctions, which for the first time targeted an independent Chinese refiner among other entities and vessels involved in supplying Iranian crude oil to China.
That marked Washington’s fourth round of sanctions against Iran since U.S. President Donald Trump in February vowed to reimpose a “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran, pledging to drive the country’s oil exports to zero.
Analysts at ANZ Bank said they expect a 1 million barrels per day (bpd) reduction in Iranian crude oil exports because of tighter sanctions.
Vessel tracking service Kpler pegged Iranian crude oil exports at over 1.8 million bpd in February, cautioning that the masking of Iranian vessel activity due to sanctions could lead to revisions to those numbers.
Source: Reuters
