Oil Slips; Market Awaits Iran, Greece News
Market monitoring Iran nuclear talks ahead of June 30 deadline.
Oil prices slipped on Friday but remained stuck in tight trading ranges as investors awaited the outcome of Iranian nuclear talks which could lead to a big increase in Iranian crude exports.
The market also kept an eye on negotiations to try to avert a Greek debt default and avoid Greece's exit from the euro.
A Greek default would be likely to strengthen the dollar against the euro, providing headwinds for oil and other commodities priced in dollars, economists say.
Brent crude for August was down 4 cents at $63.16 a barrel by 1115 GMT after ending the previous session down 29 cents. U.S. crude was down 19 cents at $59.51 a barrel after finishing Thursday down 57 cents.
"We are well and truly stuck," said Ole Hansen, senior commodity strategist at Saxo Bank.
The possibility that Iran may strike a deal with Western powers to end economic sanctions has been capping gains in oil, as a resumption of Iranian crude exports would exacerbate a global over-supply. Negotiators face a June 30 deadline for a deal.
"If they spring a deal, that would be taken as a bit of a surprise," said Hansen. "That would probably take the market down 5-10 percent."
Barbara Lambrecht, energy analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt, said the chances of an Iranian nuclear deal being concluded by the deadline were not that high: "It looks like it will be delayed."
A glut of unsold North Sea and West African barrels in the Atlantic Basin is weighing on Brent, with the physical market struggling to find homes for crude that loaded on to tankers weeks ago.
North Sea Forties crude fell to its lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis on Thursday.
"There's a lot of crude oil that's trying to find a home ... That limits the potential for a crude oil rally and puts pressure on the price," said Olivier Jakob, managing director of Petromatrix.
By Claire Milhench
