Oil prices hold sharp losses over potential US-Iran nuclear deal
Oil prices were little changed in Asian trading on Friday after sharp declines in the previous session, as expectations of a nuclear deal between Iran and the U.S. sparked oversupply concerns.
As of 21:00 ET (01:00 GMT), Brent Oil Futures expiring in June were muted at $64.55 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures edged up 0.1% to $61.22 per barrel.
Both contracts declined more than 2% on Thursday, however, they were set for weekly gains driven by an earlier surge this week after the U.S. and China agreed on Monday to temporarily lower soaring tariffs placed on each other.
US, Iran close to signing nuclear deal
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the U.S. was getting very close to securing a nuclear deal with Iran, and Tehran had "sort of" agreed to the terms.
A NBC News report also showed on Thursday that Iran is prepared to sign a nuclear agreement if all economic sanctions are lifted, citing Ali Shamkhani, a top political and nuclear adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The signing of a deal and the removal of sanctions could see Iranian oil returning to the market in force, potentially loosening the global crude supply-demand balance.
Before the reimposition of oil sanctions in 2018, Iran’s crude oil production capacity was around 3.8 million barrels a day for decades, and it is currently exporting in the neighbourhood of 1.6 million b/d.
Source: Reuters
