- The United States plans to reintroduce sanctions against Iran, which pumps about 4 percent of the world鈥檚 oil.
- Many analysts expect oil prices to rise as Iran鈥檚 exports fall.
LONDON: Oil prices steadied near 3-1/2 year highs on Friday as the prospect of new US sanctions on Iran tightened the outlook for Middle East supply at a time when global crude production is only just keeping pace with rising demand.
The United States plans to reintroduce sanctions against Iran, which pumps about 4 percent of the world鈥檚 oil, after abandoning a deal reached in late 2015 that limited Tehran鈥檚 nuclear ambitions in exchange for the removal of US and European sanctions.
The global oil market is finely balanced, with top exporter 抖阴短视频 and No.1 producer Russia having led efforts to curb oil supply to prop up prices.
Benchmark Brent crude was down 20 cents at $77.27 a barrel by 1330 GMT. On Thursday Brent hit $78, its highest since November 2014.
US light crude was down 10 cents at $71.26, having touched a 3-1/2 year high of $71.89 on Thursday.
Many analysts expect oil prices to rise as Iran鈥檚 exports fall.
鈥淭he up-trend remains strong and intact,鈥� said Robin Bieber, technical chart analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil Associates.
Rainer Seele, chief executive of Austrian oil and gas company OMV, told German daily Handelsblatt that he expects prices to rise as the United States moves to reimpose sanctions.
鈥淚t is not yet clear which concrete sanctions the US will impose. But I expect the price of North Sea Brent to be closer to $80 than $70 a barrel,鈥� Seele said in an interview.
US investment bank Jefferies said in a note on Friday that it expects Iranian crude oil exports to start falling in the next few months.
鈥淲e expect that around October Iranian exports will be down by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) and eventually fall by 1 million bpd,鈥� the bank said.
There are signs, however, that other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will raise output to counter the Iran disruption.
Jefferies said that OPEC has the capacity 鈥渢o replace the Iranian losses鈥� but added: 鈥淓ven if physical supply is held constant ... the market will still be faced with a precariously low level of spare capacity.鈥�
Outside OPEC, soaring US crude oil production