Oil prices increased as tensions remain high between Iran and the US. What is more, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo talked about significant sanctions against Iran, which could be announced soon.
Namely, Brent futures were up 25 cents, an increase of 0.4%, reaching $65.45 a barrel. In addition, West Texas Intermediate crude was up 37 cents, or 0.6%, at $57.80 a barrel.
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In addition to this, Mike Pompeo informed that sanctions could be imposes against Iran, in order to choke off resources that Tehran uses to fund its activities in the region.
On the other hand, US President Donald Trump called off a military strike to retaliate for Iran’s shooting an unmanned US drone, explaining that the US is not seeking war with Iran. However, the downing of the drone increased oil prices.
In fact, last week Brent rose about 5%, its first weekly gain in five weeks, and WTI increased around 10%, which is its biggest weekly percentage gain since December 2016, CNBC reports.
In the meantime, US energy companies have increased the number of oil rigs that are in operation for the first time in three weeks. Specifically, companies added one oil rig in the week leading to June 21. Now, the total rig count stands at 789, according to Baker Hughes.
