Oil prices rose for a third day on Tuesday, hitting a one-week high after rising more than 3% in the previous session, sparking earlier expectations by oil exporters that Iran would make a quick return to international crude markets.
Brent crude futures rose 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $ 68.60 a barrel at 0400 GMT, up 3% on Monday. U.S. West Texas interim futures were up 8 cents at $ 66.13 a barrel, up 3.9% from the previous session.
Indirect talks between the United States and Iran are set to resume in Vienna this week. Negotiations were given another life after Tehran and the UN Atomic Energy Agency extended the monitoring agreement on the Middle East’s nuclear program.
U.N. And other sanctions on crude exports Concerns that Iran will soon begin selling oil as a result of a deal have already lowered prices, but negotiations are not over.
“U.S. Secretary of State (Anthony) Blinken has poured cold water on the prospect of a resurgence, saying there is no indication that Iran is ready to comply with its nuclear obligations,” OANDA’s market analyst Sophie Griffiths said in a customer note.
Blinken told CNN on Sunday: “We have made progress.”
However, global recovery from the COVID-19 epidemic has been touted, suggesting a mixed outlook for oil demand.
Some parts of Europe and the United States record fewer epidemics and deaths, which prompts governments to ease controls, but in other regions, such as India – the world’s third-largest oil importer – rates are still high.
The number of new coronavirus infections in India has risen to 222,315, government data showed on Monday, the largest 24-hour increase in the world, although the number has dropped from more than 400,000 earlier this month.
