Oil prices rose on Tuesday. Brent rose for the fourth consecutive session as the US and Tehran talks on the nuclear deal dragged on.
Brent crude rose 38 cents, or 0.5%, to $73.24 a barrel as of 0651 GMT, after rising 0.2% on Monday. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil was up 33 cents, or 0.5%, settled to $71.21 a barrel, after falling 3 cents in the previous session.
Indirect talks between the US and the other parties to the 2015 deal on Iran and Tehran’s nuclear program, described as “intense”, resumed in Vienna on Saturday.
A US return to the deal will pave the way for the lifting of sanctions that would allow OPEC member Iran to continue exporting crude. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to see the US rejoin the Iran nuclear deal ahead of the Iranian presidential election this week.
Major producers, including members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia, stopped production to support prices as demand plummeted due to the pandemic. However, as demand is expected to continue to recover, OPEC+ will need to increase supply in the second half of this year.
Still, prices fell from highs earlier in the day as US crude briefly fell into negative territory.
Daily technical indicators are currently pointing to crude in the overbought zone and a pullback could be underway.
Investors and traders are watching the results of the two-day US Federal Reserve meeting, which begins Tuesday, for signals about when monetary stimulus will decline.
Meanwhile, the Fed is set to discuss how and when it will begin to cut back on a massive asset-buying program that is helping the U.S. economy during the pandemic.