Oil prices advanced during Thursday's Asian trade, poised for a weekly gain of around 2.8%, as fresh United States sanctions targeting Iran’s oil exports and renewed output cut pledges from key OPEC members fuelled expectations of tighter global supply.
By 3:30 pm AEST (5:30 am GMT) Brent crude futures rose by $0.71 or 1.1% to US$66.56 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) added $0.79 or 1.3% to US$62.62 per barrel.
With major global markets closed on Friday for Easter, Thursday marks the final settlement day of the trading week.
The gains came after the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control issued new sanctions on Wednesday targeting Iran’s oil trade. The latest measures include actions against a China-based "teapot" refinery, signalling intensified efforts to reduce Tehran’s energy revenues amid heightened tensions over its nuclear programme.
In parallel, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) confirmed that it had received updated commitments from Iraq, Kazakhstan, and others to implement further output cuts to offset prior overproduction. The move is seen as a step to reinforce the cartel’s collective effort to stabilise oil prices.
Analysts at ANZ noted that Iraq is under pressure to meet its OPEC+ obligations and plans to reduce exports by 70,000 barrels per day this month, citing a Bloomberg report.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan continues to exceed its production limits, contributing to a growing backlog of compensation cuts, now estimated at around 139 million barrels.
Among data releases, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed a build of 515,000 barrels in U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, slightly above market expectations of 400,000 barrels.
