Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
The prices of crude oil grades closed mixed on Friday and were heading for a weekly fall as the prospect of increased Iranian oil exports eclipsed fears of potential supply disruption resulting from the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
At the session, the Brent crude futures rose 0.66 per cent or 61 cents to $93.58 while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell by 0.29 per cent or 27 cents to $91.49 per barrel.
Both benchmark contracts hit their highest levels since September 2014 earlier this week with the international benchmark touching $96 per barrel and the WTI crude hitting $95 per barrel on Monday.
On Tuesday, oil prices tanked after Russia said some of its troops were returning to bases after finishing drills, but NATO and the United States later said they have not seen troops pulling from the Ukrainian border.
Despite the reports of a broken ceasefire with both sides trading accusations, oil moved lower on Thursday.
Now, the prospect of an easing of oil sanctions against Iran has set prices on course for their first weekly fall in nine weeks.
In the case a deal is reached between the US and Iran, the Middle East producer could return some 1.3 million barrels per day to the market within several months after the embargo removal.
However, some analysts pointed out that there is little chance that Iranian crude will return to the market in the near term to ease supply tightness.
The agreement being discussed would put the main sanction-lifting stage, including oil exports, at a later stage while releasing Western prisoners held in Iran and unfreezing Iranian funds would come first.
Tight oil supplies have continued to grip the market as the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC ) and its partners, OPEC+ struggle to pump as much crude as their quotas under the pact allow.
The gap between OPEC+ output and its target levels surged to as much as 900,000 barrels per day in January, according to estimates.
