Oil steady

LONDON. — Oil prices steadied yesterday after US President Donald Trump called on OPEC to “get prices down now!”, slowing an upward surge that has pushed the market toward four-year highs.

Brent crude oil LCOc1 was down 20 cents at $79,20 a barrel by 1340 GMT. US light crude oil CLc1 was up 30 cents at $71,42 a barrel after rising nearly 2 percent on Wednesday.

The North Sea benchmark has been trading close to $80 a barrel, near its highest for almost four years, on expectations that US sanctions against Iran, OPEC’s third biggest producer, will reduce supply in world markets.

The US sanctions were imposed by Trump in response to Iran’s nuclear program, which the White House says is designed to produce weapons, an allegation Tehran denies.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers, including Russia, meet on Sunday in Algeria to discuss how to allocate supply increases to offset the loss of Iranian barrels.

The meeting is unlikely to agree an official rise in crude output, although pressure is mounting on top producers to prevent a spike in prices.

Trump weighed into the debate via Twitter yesterday, urging OPEC to cut prices.

“The OPEC monopoly must get prices down now!,” Trump said.

“We protect the countries of the Middle East, they would not be safe for very long without us, and yet they continue to push for higher and higher oil prices! We will remember.”

Despite the president’s intervention, market sentiment remained bullish with many traders and analysts expecting Brent to move above $80 soon. — Reuters.