Oil markets wary ahead of US sanctions against Iran

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Oil markets started cautiously on Tuesday, as many traders in Asia were reluctant to take on new positions ahead of the introduction of US sanctions against major crude exporter Iran.

Spot Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were at 73.74 US dollars per barrel at 0100 GMT on Tuesday, down 1 cent from their last close.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were down 8 cents at 68.93 US dollars barrel.

US sanctions against major oil exporter Iran are set to kick in at 12:01 a.m. US east coast time (0401 GMT) on Tuesday.

Traders in Asia said they were holding back on making bets on oil ahead of European and US trading hours, which tend to see much higher liquidity and stronger price movements.

“The US seems hell-bent on regime change in Iran and is reimposing sanctions at midnight Washington time as the 6th becomes the 7th of August,” said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at futures brokerage AxiTrader.

The White House said in a statement Monday that the United States will reactivate a slew of sanctions on Iran's financial and industrial sectors beginning Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump makes a statement on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action regarding Iran in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House in Washington, DC, May 8, 2018. In his remarks, the president announced the US was pulling out of the deal and that sanctions would be reimposed on Iran. /VCG Photo

The action, followed by another set of sanctions scheduled for November, will bring US sanctions against Iran to a level on par with those prior to a major multilateral nuclear deal reached in 2015.

The first batch of sanctions target Tehran's purchase of US banknotes, trade in gold and other precious metals, as well as the use of graphite, coal, aluminum and steel in industrial processes.

Another round of sanctions, to be reinstalled in November, will be on Iran's port, energy and shipping sectors, its petroleum-related transactions, and foreign transactions with the Central Bank of Iran, according to the statement.

Many other countries, including US allies in Europe and also China and India oppose the introduction of new sanctions, but the US government said it wants as many countries as possible to stop buying Iranian oil.

“It is our policy to get as many countries to zero as quickly as possible. We are going to work with individual countries on a case-by-case basis, but our goal is to reduce the amount of revenue and hard currency going into Iran,” said a senior US administration official on Monday.

Reuters Photo

Meanwhile, ANZ bank said a 24-hour pay strike at three North Sea oil and gas platforms operated by Total, which started at 0500 GMT on Monday, was also supporting prices.

HEAT IMPACTS OIL

The main oil market price drivers of recent months have been output levels by top producers Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States, renewed Iran sanctions, the US vs China trade dispute, and unplanned supply disruptions. Some analysts warned that a global heatwave could also now affect oil demand.

Much of the northern hemisphere has been gripped by extreme heat this summer, pushing up demand for industrial and residential cooling.

This mostly impacts demand for power fuels like thermal coal and natural gas.

US bank JPMorgan said a warmer than usual fourth quarter, caused by a potential El Niño weather pattern, “can cause droughts, flooding and other natural disasters across the globe, including heatwaves in the US that affect commodities.”

“Past instances of El Niño have resulted in sharp drops in US residential and commercial heating oil demand and prices,” it said.

Source(s): Reuters ,Xinhua News Agency