Oil Drops Below $70 Over Reports Of U.S., Iran Nearing Nuclear Deal

Oil fell below $70 a barrel amid reports that the U.S. and Iran are nearing a deal, potentially paving the way for exports from the Islamic nation amid demand concerns.

West Texas Intermediate fell as much as 4.8% to slip below $70 a barrel after Middle Eastern media reported that the U.S. has made progress in talks over the Iran’s nuclear programme.

Once OPEC’s No. 2 producer, Bloomberg reported Iran could restore about 1 million barrels of daily crude production within months of a deal. It could be back to full capacity of about 3.7 million barrels a day by next year, the report said.

Crude has fallen 10% this year amid global recessionary fears after a spate of rate hikes to cool inflation and sluggish demand in China. To support prices, Saudi Arabia’s pledged to additionally cut over 1 million barrels a day in output in July.

West Texas Intermediate and Brent Crude recovered and were trading at $71.59 a barrel and $76.17 a barrel, respectively, around 12 midnight India time.