BLBG:Brent Oil Rises in London as EU Diplomats Agree to Sanctions Against Iran
Oil rose in London after European Union diplomats agreed on imposing a phased-in embargo against imports of Iranian crude.
A ban to be implemented in stages by July 1 will be formally approved by EU foreign ministers later today, an official said on condition of anonymity because the talks are private. The region bought 450,000 barrels a day of Iran’s oil in the first half of 2011, U.S. Energy Department data show.
“It remains to be seen how the embargo will be implemented and therefore how prices will react,” said Christopher Bellew, a senior broker at Jefferies Bache Ltd. in London. “Sanctions would of course be more effective if the EU can persuade other buyers to join them. And full implementation has been delayed to July 1. A lot can happen in five months.”
Brent oil for March settlement advanced as much as 59 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $110.45 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. It was at $110.15 a barrel at 9:15 a.m. London time.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was at $98.10 a barrel in electronic trading, down 23 cents, having fallen as much as 1.1 percent before the reports.
To contact the reporter on this story: Grant Smith in London at gsmith52@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Voss on sev@bloomberg.net
