Crude Oil Rally Continues As Iran Hints At Deal

United States stocks advanced on Thursday as oil prices rose and as jobs data showed an unexpected drop in weekly unemployment claims.

Thursday’s bearish EIA data, if followed through by more US crude stockpile growth, could negate the market’s hopes in seeing continued price recovery from the production freeze plan, traders and analysts said.

Pirouz Mousavi, the managing director of the Iranian Oil Terminals Company (IOTC), has been quoted by the media as saying that the exports of 7.1 million barrels of oil were made over the past few days through the southern Kharg terminal.

In London, the price of a barrel of Brent North Sea crude for April delivery rose 2.32 dollars to 34.50 dollars on the InterContinental Exchange (ICE).

West Texas Intermediate oil futures for March delivery ended a choppy session slightly higher.

On Wednesday WTI jumped more than seven percent while Brent added 5.6 percent. “We’re still in a very well-supplied market and with refinery maintenance coming up and warmer weather heading to the U.S. East Coast, we are likely to see substantial builds in the weeks to come”. US crude CLc1 gained 65 cents to $31.31.

Already up to the NY opening, the oil market has accelerated after about Iran, a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), who said he was ready to support any measure to stabilize the market, after a freeze of production agreement between Saudi Arabia and Russian Federation, which together with the United States the trio of world’s largest producers. “It appears that the price requires an astounding catalyst to break above this level and the upcoming crude inventory data due today could provide this”. Iran said Wednesday that it was supportive of cooperation but must still press ahead with plans to increase production to pre-sanctions levels.

“It’s a continuation of yesterday’s move”, said Carsten Fritsch, analyst at Commerzbank. The sanctions were lifted last month and sources familiar with Iranian thinking have said Tehran will not freeze output at current levels.