U.S. oil prices hover at 3 1/2 year highs, as analysts entertain the idea of $100 crude

Oil prices were mainly flat Friday, hovering near the more-than-three-year highs reached after President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal.

Trump’s move Tuesday to abandon the 2015 international agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear program paved the way for the reimposition of U.S. economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic. The expectation that sanctions will again frustrate Iran’s oil industry and limit global supply has helped to boost prices close to 5% since the announcement.

In the past, sanctions against Iran have cut the country’s crude exports by around 1 million barrels a day. But because the European Union and other intentional players have decided to stick with the deal, U.S. sanctions are likely to affect only up to around 350,000 barrels a day, once reinstated within six months’ time, according to analysts at MUFG Bank.

The surge in prices this week prompted renewed oil market speculation that Brent could again reach $100 a barrel — a level not seen since before the price crash of late 2014.
more at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-oil-prices-hover-at-3-12-year-highs-as-analysts-entertain-the-idea-of-100-crude-2018-05-11