Concerns About Iran's Oil Production Dominates the Markets

Oil prices are mixed with concerns about the extra oil production to be announced by Iran.

Concerns about Iran's oil production dominates the markets. Oil prices began to flatten near the lowest in the last 3 weeks, with investors focusing on extra oil production from Iran. Futures contracts changed little after dropping 3 percent in the London market Wednesday. A senior European Union (EU) official stated that the US and Iran are very close to reactivating the nuclear deal. This means that Iran will produce more oil. While oil prices have been traded 30 percent above since the beginning of 2021, demand in China remains strong. Warren Patterson, ING Group Commodity Strategy Manager, made the following statements on the subject: “Considering the risk of the Iran nuclear deal and the increasing number of cases in Asia, we think there is a downward pressure. The medium-term outlook is still up, and Brent oil will average around $ 70 in the second half of the year.” The announcement of the record number of cases in India's coronavirus outbreak caused the product processing rate of Indian Oil Corp, the largest refinery in the country, to decrease by close to 20 percent. Brent oil rose 0.2 percent on the London ICE Futures Europe market, trading at $ 66.76 a barrel. West Texas Petroleum (WTI) is trading in the Nymex market at $ 63.53 per barrel, up 17 cents.