Oil prices steady on falling U.S. crude stocks, Iran sanctions

By Henning Gloystein

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices held steady on Wednesday, supported by a report of rising U.S. crude inventories as well as the introduction of sanctions against Iran.

Front-month U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures () were at $69.21 per barrel at 0012 GMT, up 4 cents from their last settlement.

Brent crude oil futures () were at $74.63 per barrel, down two cents after a 90 cent gain in the previous session.

“Crude oil prices rose as the reality of U.S. sanctions on Iran weighed on sentiment. News from key buyers suggests the market is already adjusting to the new regime,” ANZ bank said in a note on Wednesday.

The U.S. government introduced a raft a new sanctions against Iran on Tuesday, targeting Iran’s purchases of U.S. dollars – in which oil is traded – metals trading, coal, industrial software and its auto sector.

From November, Washington will also target Iran’s petroleum sector.

Iran is a major exporter of crude oil, shipping out almost 3 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude in September, equivalent to around 3 percent of global demand.

(GRAPHIC: Shipped Iran crude oil exports: https://reut.rs/2vjGcyb)

Beyond the sanctions, the oil market was focusing on the U.S. market, where the American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday that crude inventories fell by 6 million barrels in the week to Aug. 3 to 407.2 million.

Official U.S. fuel storage data is due to be released later on Wednesday by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

In terms of production, the EIA on Tuesday slightly cut its 2018 expectation for average 2018 U.S. crude output to 10.69 million bpd, down from its previous estimate of 10.79 million bpd.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.