Oil prices dip after Iran says it won’t freeze output

SINGAPORE6 (AFP) – Oil prices dipped in Asia Monday after Iran said it has no plans to join any output freeze by other major producers.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) – of which Iran is a member – is due to meet in Vienna on June 2, after talks in Doha in April involving OPEC members and other major producers such as Russia failed to reach a deal to cap production.

Despite a recent rebound, world crude prices are still below half their levels in June, 2014 due to oversupply.

Iran only returned to world oil markets in January after the lifting of nuclear-linked Western sanctions.

At about 0630 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in July, a new contract, was down 51 cents, or 1.05 percent, at $47.90 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for July was down 42 cents, or 0.86 percent, at $48.30.

Bloomberg News reported that Rokneddin Javadi, managing director of National Iranian Oil Co., told Iran's Mehr news agency that ''the government has no plans for the time being to freeze or interrupt its increase in oil output and exports based on plans that are being carried out''.

CMC Markets senior sales trader Alex Wijaya told AFP the news out of Iran dashed rising confidence among traders prompted by a tightening of the supply-demand equation, with US output steadily falling and Nigeria and Canada suffering temporary cutbacks.