Iran’s Oil Eases at $62

EghtesadOnline: Iran's crude oil prices eased from their peak levels this year, but continued to trade firmly above the $60-per-barrel mark in the week to Dec. 8.

News ID: ۷۸۱۳۱۴

15 January 2018

Iran's light crude dropped 71 cents to $62.03 per barrel in the week, averaging 51.73 a barrel for the year. Iran Heavy, one of the country's main grades for export, settled down 30 cents at $59.47 a barrel, Shana reported on Sunday, citing a report by the Oil Ministry.

The country's light crude was trading close to $64 per barrel last month.

Average prices of Iranian crude have soared by around $12 per barrel in 2017 from the previous year, according to a ministry report last week, Financial Tribune reported.

According to OPEC's latest monthly report published on Dec. 13, Iran Heavy crude jumped $4.98 per barrel, or 9.2%, in November, to $59.27.

The price of OPEC basket of 14 crudes stood at $60.87 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $61.5 the previous day, according to the latest OPEC calculations.

Oil prices have been supported by last month's extension of a supply cut pact between OPEC and some non-OPEC producers from March to the end of next year. Prices have also drawn support from political tensions in the Middle East and supply disruptions in Iraq, the United States and elsewhere.

The accord has propelled crude benchmarks to their highest levels since the middle of 2015. Brent crude futures settled at $63.23 a barrel on Friday while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures traded at $57.3 a barrel. WTI hit a two-year high of $59.05 on Nov. 24.

Under the scheme, Iran is expected to pump around 3.8 million barrels a day. The country is producing around the same level, according to government figures and data provided by OPEC's secondary sources monitoring the production of the group's member states.