LONDON: Oil fell below US$107 a barrel on Monday after six major powers struck a fresh six-month deal with Iran to curb its nuclear programme, but losses were limited by problems at a key North Sea field. Brent crude for February delivery was down 32 cents at US$106.93 per barrel at 0932 GMT. The contract had settled 86 cents higher on Friday. US crude slipped 43 cents to US$92.29 per barrel, after closing US$1.06 higher on Friday. Analysts said the move lower on the Iran developments was relatively muted because any increase in exports would be slow. "It adds some bearish sentiment, but there won't be a big increase in exports this year, and this is only the signing of an intermediate deal," said Bjarne Schieldrop, analyst at SEB in Oslo. The deal between Iran and six major powers intended to pave the way to a solution to a long standoff over Tehran's nuclear ambitions will come into force on January 20, the Iranian Foreign Ministry and the European Union said on Sunday. Sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme have kept about 1 million barrels per day of oil off global markets, but an agreement reached November 24 last year raised hopes of a long-term deal that could see Iran resuming full exports. Obama urged the Congress not to impose additional sanctions on Iran, saying that doing so risked undermining the November agreement, which aims to give the two sides six months to reach a comprehensive deal. Reports on Friday of fresh production problems at the North Sea's Buzzard oilfield supported Brent prices. The field's operator Nexen declined to comment. Buzzard is the largest of the fields that contribute to the Forties crude blend, the most important of the North Sea crudes underpinning the Brent crude benchmark. Crude oil prices could soften by mid-2014 due to some weakness in demand, Nizar Al-Adsani, chief executive of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC), told reporters on Monday. By contrast, fellow OPEC member Iran was more upbeat about the outlook for prices. Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanganeh told his ministry's news service Shana that crude oil prices are not likely to change dramatically this year. The highly anticipated US jobs numbers on Friday showed a rise of just 74,000 in December, the smallest increase since January 2011, which suggested the Fed may hold back in tapering its bond purchases that have boosted liquidity and appetite for risky assets such as oil.-- Reuters

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