Oil Prices Rise as Trump Denies Easing Sanctions on Iran
Oil prices rose on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump denied he would ease sanctions on Iran and Qatar pushed for peace talks. Brent crude futures gained $1.14, or 1.1 per cent, to $103.73 a barrel by 1:31 am GMT.
The spread between the two benchmarks in September expanded to its widest in four months as traders watched potential plans by the US to restrict diesel exports, which could create an oversupply in the domestic market and lead US refiners to process less crude.
Saudi Arabia resumed oil tanker loadings from its Red Sea port of Yanbu after restarting operations on the East-West Pipeline. Crude oil exports from Middle East producers have rebounded in September to 16.328 million barrels per day, the highest since the US-Israeli war with Iran started in late February.
Trump denied an Axios report that cited US officials as saying he was willing to give Iran sanctions relief and release frozen Iranian funds in return for 'concrete' steps by Tehran on its nuclear programme.