Oil ends at 3-1/2 year high over Trump threat to Iran nuke deal
AP File Photo
NEW YORK, United States — Oil prices closed at three and a half year peaks Monday ahead of a US announcement on Iran policy as global equity markets pushed higher.
Speculation that US President Donald Trump would exit the Iran nuclear deal pushed US oil prices to their first close above $70 a barrel since November 2014. Oil prices in Europe also ended at a three-and-a-half year peak.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was the latest European official to travel to Washington to urge the Trump administration to preserve the 2015 pact in which major powers agreed to ease some sanctions on Iran in exchange for greater scrutiny of its nuclear activities.
US President Donald Trump tweeted that he would announce his decision Tuesday, before US markets close.
“The market is worried that President Trump will not certify that Iran is compliant and as a result, that may reduce the amount of Iranian exports at a time when oil inventories are declining,” said Andy Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates.
US equities had a solid day, with the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index leading the major stock indices after Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger effused in a broadcast interview over tech giants Apple, Amazon and Google, lifting shares of all three companies.
Europe’s biggest stock market, London, was shut for a bank holiday Monday, sapping volumes elsewhere on the continent.
Frankfurt and Paris posted gains, with analysts pointing to positive momentum from Friday’s Wall Street session, when a mixed US jobs report was seen as reducing the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will accelerate interest rate hikes.
Earlier, most Asian markets had closed higher — with Shanghai a standout — while Tokyo ended marginally lower as traders returned following an extended holiday weekend.
The dollar continued to advance against the euro and most other currencies, a trend that reflects data “pointing to the US economy growing at a steady pace while Europe and elsewhere slow,” said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions. /cbb
