Oil prices rose more than $1 per barrel yesterday. Price of Brent crude futures increased by $1.66, or 2.51 per cent, to trade and $67.92 per barrel while the US West Texas Intermediate crude contract for May, which expired yesterday by $1.84, or 2.92 per cent, to trade at $64.92.
The rise in oil prices was attribute to new United States sanctions against Iran and that rising equity markets helped spark a recovery rally from the prior session’s steep selloff.
According the Reuters the United States yesterday issued fresh sanctions targeting an Iranian liquefied petroleum gas and crude oil shipping magnate and his corporate network.
According to Reuters, although talks between Washington and Tehran over the latter’s nuclear program made progress over the past weekend, failure to reach a deal could weigh heavily on Iran’s oil exports amid tightening U.S. sanctions, a partner at New York-based Again Capital, John Kilduff, said
“Either some nuclear deal is agreed or the U.S. tries to drive Iran’s oil flows to zero, and its increasingly looking like a zero-flow scenario,” Kilduff said.
