WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil futures climbed higher and settled at one-week high on Tuesday amid uncertainty about a nuclear deal with Iran anytime in the foreseeable future.
Oil's climb was also due to comments by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) that it would be impossible to replace the 7 million barrels per day of Russian oil and other liquid exports likely to be lost in the event of sanctions or voluntary actions.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $6.31 or about 6.7% at $100.60 a barrel.
Brent crude futures were up $6.10 or 6.2% at $104.58 a barrel a little while ago.
'We really don't know if we'll get a deal or not, because the United States hasn't shown the necessary will to reach an agreement,' Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday. 'What remains are the decisions of Washington,' he added.
According to OPEC's Monthly Oil Market Report, the group raised its oil production by just 57,000 barrels per day in March from February, as African members' struggles to pump more crude partially offset increases at the core OPEC members of the Middle East.
All 13 OPEC members including Libya, Iran, and Venezuela, pumped 28.56 million bpd in March, up by just 57,000 bpd from February. Crude oil output increased mainly in the three Arab Gulf producers, namely Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the UAE.
Meanwhile, fears of demand downturn in China eased somewhat after Shanghai eased a draconian two-week lockdown to allow some residents out of their homes.
Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2022 AFX News
