Oil prices jump amid new sanctions on Iran

By  Trend

World oil prices increased on February 6 amid new U.S. sanctions on Iran.

The price of April futures for Brent crude oil rose by 0.28 percent and stood at $56.97 per barrel as of 12:34 EST. Meanwhile, the price of March futures for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) has increased by 0.32 percent to $54 per barrel.

Iran carried out a test launch of a medium-range ballistic missile on January 29. In response to Tehran’s activities, the US Treasury Department published a list of 13 individuals and 12 entities facing new restrictions. The entities include companies based in Tehran, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and China.

Overall, oil was boosted this January after crude producers had cut their output as agreed under a deal with OPEC, adding to signs of compliance with a global pact to scale back production.

January 1 marked the official start of the deal agreed by OPEC and non-OPEC member countries such as Russia in November 2016 to reduce output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day to 32.5 million for the next six months.

The deal, if carried out as planned, should reduce global supply by about 2%.