WTI eases-off 2.5-year highs after Iran says outline agreed with US to lift energy sanctions

WTI briefly paused its ongoing uptrend and pulled back slightly from two-and-half-year highs of $72.69 after Iran announced that it has reached a broad agreement with the US over the lifting of the energy sanctions.

Saeed Khatibzadeh, a spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said: “Some minute technical, political, legal and practical issues remain.”

“No task was impossible for negotiators” and there’s no impasse, he added.

This comes amidst ongoing nuclear deal talks between the world powers. On Saturday, Iran’s lead envoy in Vienna, Abbas Araghchi, said a deal was unlikely before presidential elections in his country this Friday.

Despite the latest downtick, the US oil remains on a winning streak for the third straight day this Monday, underpinned by the global economic recovery and the prospect of fuel demand growth as vaccination campaigns in developed countries accelerate.

Meanwhile, an upbeat monthly report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), citing that “global oil demand should surpass pre-covid levels by end of 2022,” also renders positive for the black gold.

At the press time, WTI is adding 0.83% on the day, trading at $71.50. The bulls look to conquer the $72 barrier. Markets will continue to eye fresh updates from Iran and the US on the lifting of the sanctions, as it would offer hints on when the OPEC member will be able to resume crude exports.

WTI: Technical levels to watch