Brent crude oil settled slightly above $75/bbl on the London market Apr. 30 while light, sweet crude oil prices rose modestly on the New York market. Analysts said crude prices rose on expectations that the US will withdraw from a 2015 international agreement on Iran.
Any new sanctions against Iran could reduce its oil export volumes and potentially its growing oil production levels.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he has evidence that the Islamic Republic lied years ago about plans to build a nuclear weapon. Netanyahu gave a televised presentation Apr. 30 in which he described Iran’s alleged nuclear program.
Netanyahu said Israel obtained documents from Tehran although he did not provide specifics. He said he has 100,000 files on paper and disks that show “Iran is brazenly lying when it says it never had a nuclear-weapons program.”
Many critics of Iran have suggested Iran had a nuclear-weapons program until 2003 with some related activities continuing until 2009. A White House statement issued Apr. 30 said Iran had tried to hide “a robust, clandestine nuclear weapons program.”
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Netanyahu’s evidence “authentic” and said that US officials are reviewing the documents.
JBC Energy analysts in a May 1 research note said, “Rhetoric out of Israel regarding Iran add[s] significantly to the odds that the current nuclear deal with Iran is at risk of not being extended at least by the US,” by a May 12 deadline.
Energy prices
The June light, sweet crude contract on the NYMEX gained 47¢ on Apr. 30 to settle at $68.57/bbl. The July price was up 50¢ to settle at $68.48/bbl.
The NYMEX natural gas price for June settled at a rounded $2.76/MMbtu, down less than 1¢. The Henry Hub cash gas price was $2.68/MMbtu on Apr. 30, down 9¢.
Ultralow-sulfur diesel for May gained nearly 2¢ to settle at a rounded $2.17/gal. The NYMEX reformulated gasoline blendstock for May edged up less than a penny to remain at a rounded $2.13/gal.
Brent crude oil for June gained 53¢ to settle at $75.17/bbl on London’s International Commodity Exchange. The July contract was up 90¢ to $74.69/bbl. The gas oil contract for May was $655.50/tonne, unchanged.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ basket of crudes was unavailable on May 1.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected]