Oil Prices Slip on Washington’s Sanction Waivers to Iran Crude Importers
Investing.com - Oil prices dipped on Monday morning in Asia after the U.S. said it would allow eight countries to import crude oil from Iran, easing market jitters over tight supply from Iranian sanctions coming into effect later in the day.
Crude Oil WTI Futures for December delivery dropped 0.71% to $62.69 per barrel at 10:47PM ET (02:47 GMT) on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent Oil Futures for January 2019 delivery edged down 0.19% to $72.43 a barrel on London’s Intercontinental Exchange.
The Trump administration is expected to reveal the list of eight importers who were granted sanction waivers. Reports from various media last week showed that South Korea and India could be on the list.
“Iranian exports and production had been declining steadily…Iranian exports show a decline of more than one million barrels per day (bpd) as of October from May,” Edward Bell of Emirates NBD bank told Reuters.
Iran appealed to Europe for support on Saturday, according to the country’s state news agency IRNA. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had conversations with EU’s foreign policy leader, Federica Mogherini, and his counterparts in Germany, Denmark and Sweden.
Mogherini and foreign ministers from Germany, France and the UK released a joint statement last Friday, expressing their “regret” of the re-imposition of sanctions, saying that “the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions is an essential part of the deal [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action].”
The statement also said that “we are determined to protect European economic operators engaged in legitimate business with Iran.”
Major oil producer Russia also vowed to help Iran counter US sanctions and “look for mechanisms that would allow us to continue developing co-operation with our partners, with Iran,” Energy Minister Alexander Novak told the Financial Times.
The world’s three largest oil producers – the U.S., Russia and Saudi Arabia – hinted at raising crude output to compensate for the expected downfall from Iranian sanctions. Their combined output in October exceeded 33 million bpd for the first time, a 10 million bpd leap since 2010.
Elsewhere, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, the state-backed firm of OPEC member UAE, said on Sunday that the company is set to raise oil production capacity to 4 million bpd at the end of 2020 and 5 million bpd by 2030.
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