Pump jacks operate at sunset in Midland, Texas, U.S., February 11, 2019. REUTERS/Nick Oxford/File Photo
Oil prices slipped on Tuesday, but were near one-week highs after jumping more than 3% the previous session as investors tempered expectations of an early return of oil exporter Iran to international crude markets.
Brent crude futures were down 20 cents, or 0.3%, at $68.26 a barrel by 1223 GMT, having jumped 3% on Monday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were off 29 cents, or 0.4%, at $65.76 a barrel, after gaining 3.9% the previous session.
Indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran are due to resume in Vienna this week. Talks were given another life after Tehran and the U.N. nuclear agency extended a monitoring agreement on the Middle Eastern country’s atomic programme.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday said the United States has not seen yet whether Iran will move to comply with its nuclear commitments in order to have sanctions removed even as ongoing talks have shown progress. read more
“It seems that the market no longer expects the nuclear agreement between the US and Iran to be reinstated in the near future, or therefore that Iranian oil exports will quickly return to the global market,” Commerzbank said in a note.
Still, the global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is patchy, indicating a mixed outlook for oil demand.
Parts of Europe and the United States are recording fewer infections and deaths, prompting governments to ease restrictions, but in other areas such as India – the world’s third-biggest oil importer – rates are still high.
New coronavirus infections in India rose by 222,315, government data showed on Monday, the world’s biggest 24-hour increase, though numbers have fallen off highs of over 400,000 earlier this month. read more
The German economy shrank more than expected in the first quarter as coronavirus-related restrictions spurred householders to put more money than ever into savings, data showed on Tuesday.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Convenience retail is becoming an increasingly data-driven business, with operators balancing tight margins, shifting consumer…
As enterprises have moved more workloads into virtualised environments, the hypervisor has become a critical…
Rally Saudi Arabia will not form part of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship due…
Outdoor footwear is increasingly expected to do more than perform on a trail. Consumers move…
The non-alcoholic beverage market is beginning to move beyond the simple promise of drinking less.…
For clean-energy technology companies, sustainability reporting is increasingly moving beyond a compliance exercise. Investors, customers…