Oil edges up but set for weekly fall on Iran nuclear talks
By Administrator_ India
Oil prices nudged up on Friday, recovering from three days of losses as investors braced for the return of Iranian crude supplies after officials said Iran and world powers made progress on talks to revive a 2015 nuclear deal.
Brent crude futures for July rose 8 cents, or 0.1%, to $65.19 a barrel by 0646 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate for July was at $62.16 a barrel, up 22 cents, or 0.4%.
For the week, however, both contracts are down nearly 5% and on track to post their biggest weekly loss since March after Iran’s president said the United States was ready to lift sanctions on his country’s oil, banking and shipping sectors.
Iran and world powers have been in talks since April on reviving the deal and the European Union official leading the discussions said on Wednesday he was confident a deal would be reached.
Still, investors remain upbeat about fuel demand recovery this summer as vaccination programs in Europe and the United States would allow more people to travel, although rising cases across parts of Asia could weigh on that region’s consumption.
Option bets on oil prices rising above $100 for the December 2021 Brent contract have jumped after last week’s surprisingly strong U.S. inflation data, with open interest on calls nearly tripling in May, analysts said. The bank’s forecast is for Brent to end 2021 at $74.
To reach $100, demand would need to average above 102.6 million BPD in the third quarter and grow to 103.6 million BPD in the fourth quarter, JPMorgan said, in the absence of any additional OPEC+ supply response.
