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MTECHTIPS;-U.S. crude falls 3%, as Russia supports defiant Iran in resisting freeze
Crude prices slid from three-month highs on Monday, after Russia lent support to Iran’s refusal to align with other major producers in a joint effort to cap output, placing a potential OPEC-Non OPEC production freeze in jeopardy. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude for April delivery traded in a broad range between $36.69 and $38.66 a barrel, before settling at $37.23, down 1.27 or 3.30% on the session. On Friday, the front month contract for U.S. crude surged above $39 a barrel to reach its highest level since early-December. Despite Monday’s losses, WTI crude has still soared more than 30% over the last month, rebounding considerably from 13-year lows from mid-February. On the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), brent crude for May delivery wavered between $38.82 and $40.51 a barrel, before closing at $39.60, down 0.79 or 1.96% on the session. North Sea crude futures have also rallied sharply over the last month after briefly dipping below $30 a barrel in mid-February. Following a meeting with Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanganeh and energy minister Hamid Chitchian on Monday, Russia counterpart Alexander Novak confirmed the Persian Gulf nation’s intentions to continue ramping up output before agreeing to any production freeze that could be supported by up to 10 major oil powers. The comments place a snag into developments related to the first potential OPEC-Non OPEC deal in 15 years. It came one day after Zanganeh emphatically told reporters that Iran does not intend to agree to any deal until its production reaches pre-sanction levels of approximately 4 million barrels per day. “I have already announced my view regarding the oil freeze and I’m saying now that as long as we have not reached four million barrels per day in production, they should leave us alone,” Zanganeh said on Sunday.
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