By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil went lower on Thursday as Iran said talks with world powers on its nuclear programme would resume by the end of November.
This fell the Brent crude oil by 0.31 per cent or 26 cents to $84.32 per barrel and dragged down the United States West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil grade by 0.18 per cent or 15 cents to $82.81 per barrel.
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator said the country’s nuclear talks with six world powers to try to revive a 2015 nuclear deal will resume by the end of November.
Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, who is leading negotiations for Iran, said a date will be announced next week. His comments came after he met the European Union’s deputy envoy for foreign affairs, Enrique Mora, in Brussels.
US officials said they would discuss Iran with European allies at the G20 meeting in Rome this weekend saying the country is committed to a “diplomatic path forward,” according to White House Spokeswoman, Mrs Jen Psaki.
The market didn’t receive the news well as a deal could pave the way to lifting harsh sanctions imposed by former US President Donald Trump on Iran’s oil exports in late 2018.
Analysts pointed out that oil traders had not expected the nuclear talks to resume as soon as next month, estimating that Iran could increase daily oil production to an average of 3.2 million barrels over the first half of 2022. That would be up from around 2-2.5 million barrels a day now.
This did not allow the market to return to its expected bullish arena after US crude stocks rose by 4.3 million barrels last week, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday, more than double the 1.9 million-barrel gain forecast by analysts.
The hefty stock build was because of a large jump in net imports of crude oil while refinery processing remained sluggish.
In China, authorities placed price caps on coal prices as they unleashed their latest crackdown on a commodity it felt was mispriced despite urging energy firms to secure supplies at any price less than a month ago.
Outbreaks of coronavirus infections in China and deaths as well as the threat of lockdowns in Russia, along with rising cases in western Europe, also weighed on prices.
The steady increase of cases in the past week and their geographical spread alarmed local authorities could prompt the return of complex sets of restrictions on travel as well as on the tourism and catering sectors.
