SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Oil prices extended gains on Tuesday, holding around one-week highs after jumping more than 3% the previous session as investors tempted previous expectations of an early return of oil exporter Iran to international crude markets.
Brent crude futures rose 23 cents to $68.69 a barrel at 0656 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up 18 cents at $66.23 per barrel.
Indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran are due to resume in Vienna this week. Talks were given another life after Tehran and the U.N. nuclear agency extended a monitoring agreement on Iran’s atomic programme.
“U.S. Secretary of State [Antony] Blinken poured cold water over the prospect of a revival, stating that there was no indication that Iran is willing to comply with nuclear commitments,” Reuters quoted Market Analyst at OANDA Sophie Griffiths as saying.
On Sunday, Blinken told CNN that the United States had “actually made progress”.
Still, the global recovery from the coronavirus pandemic is patchy, indicating a mixed outlook for oil demand.
