Oil prices rose on Monday, underpinned by strong demand during the summer driving season and a pause in talks to revive the Iran nuclear deal that could indicate a delay in resumption of supplies from the OPEC producer.
Brent crude for August gained 23 cents, or 0.3%, to $73.74 a barrel by 0622 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for July was at $71.94 a barrel, up 30 cents, or 0.4%.
Both benchmarks have risen for the past four weeks amid optimism over the pace of global vaccinations and a pick up in summer travel. The rebound has pushed up spot premiums for crude in Asia and Europe to multi-month highs.
Negotiations to revive the Iran nuclear deal took a pause on Sunday after hardline judge Ebrahim Raisi won the country's presidential election. Two diplomats said they expected a break of around 10 days.
The election could delay the nuclear deal as Iran has insisted that U.S. sanctions placed on Raisi be removed before an agreement is reached, analysts from ANZ, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and ING said.
However, CBA analyst Vivek Dhar said Raisi's win is unlikely to derail efforts to revive the nuclear deal given the potential economic windfall for Iran if sanctions are lifted.
A deal could see Iran exporting an extra 1 million barrels per day, or 1% of global supply, for more than six months, from its storage facilities.
· Iran stores more oil on tankers as it counts days to enter markets
Iran could quickly export millions of barrels of oil it is holding in storage if it reaches a deal with the United States on its nuclear programme and has been moving oil into place to prepare for an eventual restart, four traders and industrial sources said.
Reference: Reuters
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