Oil falls by $1

A plan by OPEC+ to start reviving idled output in April has added to bearish headwinds while fading premiums for Middle Eastern oil are pointing to fewer worries about geopolitical risks and sanctions.

LONDON. — Brent crude oil shed some of its recent gains by falling just over $1 a barrel yesterday but healthy demand underpinned prices near $70, a level not seen since 2014’s market slump. Prices have been driven up by oil production curbs in OPEC nations and Russia, as well as strong demand thanks to healthy economic growth. Brent futures LCOc1 fell by $1,08, or 1,54 percent, to $69,18 per barrel by 1108 GMT. Traders said Brent was well supported overall at around $70.

Brent hit $70,37 on Monday, a high from December 2014, when markets were at the beginning of a three-year decline. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $63,87 a barrel, down 43 cents, or 0,67 percent. WTI hit a December 2014 peak of $64,89 in early trading.

“The market is hitting technical resistance. We need to see a confirmation of a true break past $70 a barrel,” Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix consultancy said.

“There is lots of speculative length in WTI at the moment … the force is from the U.S. market right now so we need the direction they give coming back from holiday.”

Trading was thin on Monday due to a holiday in the United States.

Oil has been pushed higher by an effort led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia to withhold production since January last year. The cuts are set to last through 2018.

Reacting to the recent three-year high, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said the oil market was not yet balanced and that the global deal to cut output should continue as the price rise could be due to cold weather. — Reuters