LONDON: Oil prices rose yesterday as markets reacted to developments over Iran, the outlook for Federal Reserve stimulus and Chinese manufacturing data.
New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in January, climbed 32 cents to $94.17 a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for January edged up 17 cents to stand at $108.23 a barrel in London midday deals.
A senior Iranian negotiator said yesterday that “serious issues” continue to divide Tehran and world powers in talks over the country’s nuclear drive after a “very useful” session in Geneva.
The EU said they had been “very substantial and detailed”.
The talks, the third since President Hassan Rouhani took office, are aimed at getting major crude exporter Iran to scale back some of its nuclear programme in exchange for minor sanctions relief.
Oil traders reacted also to minutes of the last Federal Reserve meeting, which showed the US central bank has considered the possibility of tapering its huge stimulus programme in the coming months.
The minutes were published on Wednesday and after the Department of Energy said US commercial crude inventories had risen 400,000 barrels last week — lower than market expectations of a gain of 700,000 barrels.
The US is the world’s biggest consumer of crude. AFP
