- Oil steadied near $61 after a 9% gain over four sessions fueled by Iran concerns
- US officials planned a White House meeting to discuss Iran and its oil production risks
- Trump urged Iranian protests and hinted at action depending on protester casualties
Oil steadied after notching its biggest four-day gain in more than six months, as US officials planned to discuss Iran during a White House meeting.
West Texas Intermediate traded near $61 a barrel, after adding more than 9% over the previous four sessions, while Brent closed above $65 on Tuesday. President Donald Trump urged Iranians to continue protests against the government of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei before the meeting and said he would “act accordingly” once he gets a sense for how many of the demonstrators have been killed.
Traders are closely watching the political unrest in Iran and possible American intervention, which could threaten the country's roughly 3.3 million barrels-per-day oil production. Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Fox News that the US would “happily be a commercial partner” to get “better price realizations” for Iranian crude if the regime fell.
The turmoil in OPEC's fourth-largest producer, along with upheaval in Venezuela, has reinserted a premium into oil prices following a run of five monthly losses spurred by expectations for a glut. The rally has caught off guard a market that was steeped with bearish bets.
"The market going in is record short," Jeff Currie, chief strategy officer of energy pathways at Carlyle Group Inc., said in a Bloomberg TV interview. "Demand is not slowing down, it's picking up. And geopolitical risk is at an all-time high — that's a recipe for a spike in prices right now."
Oil gains ground at start of the year. (Photo: Bloomberg)
Elsewhere, an industry report indicated US crude stockpiles rose 5.3 million barrels last week. That would be the biggest increase in two months if confirmed by official data later Wednesday.
In the Black Sea, two oil tankers were attacked near the loading terminal for the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. That has complicated Kazakhstan's crude exports, with planned shipments already affected by bad winter weather and mooring damage.
Prices
WTI for February delivery slipped 0.1% to $61.11 a barrel at 8:22 a.m. in Singapore.
Brent for March settlement closed 2.5% higher at $65.47 a barrel on Tuesday.
