US oil rose above US$70 a barrel for the first time since November 2014, as traders braced for a reimposition of US sanctions on Middle East crude producer Iran.
Futures in New York and London jumped as much as 1.4 percent.
While US President Donald Trump has threatened he would pull out of a deal between Iran and world powers as a Saturday deadline nears, he has signaled he would be open to negotiation.
The 2015 accord eased sanctions on OPEC’s third-largest member in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program, and renewed US measures might stifle the Middle East nation’s crude exports.
Iran has come out against higher prices, after a rally of more than 12 percent this year on output cuts by OPEC and its allies, as well as rising geopolitical risks in the Middle East.
Crude at US$60 to US$65 a barrel is “suitable,” an Iranian official said on Sunday, signaling a split with fellow OPEC member Saudi Arabia, which is said to be aiming for US$80 oil.
The group is to meet next month in Vienna.
“Fresh sanctions, which would remove some of Iran’s crude supplies from the global market, will tighten the balance between demand and supply, and support crude prices,” Japan Oil, Gas & Metals National Corp chief economist Takayuki Nogami said by telephone from Tokyo. “While there could be profit-taking given current oil prices, it will be limited as concerns over Iran are rising.”
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil for delivery next month climbed as much as US$0.97 to US$70.69 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and traded at $70.41 at 2:53pm in Singapore. Total volume traded was about 61 percent above the 100-day average. Prices rose 2.4 percent last week.
Brent for July settlement rose US$0.68 to US$75.55 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices climbed 0.3 percent last week. The global benchmark crude, which is also on course for the highest close since November 2014, was at a US$5.29 premium to July WTI.
Yuan-denominated futures for September delivery rose 2.9 percent to 460 yuan (US$72.27) per barrel on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange. The contract climbed 0.6 percent last week.
While refusing to reveal what he will do on Saturday, Trump reiterated his belief the existing accord is “a horrible agreement for the United States,” but “that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t negotiate a new agreement.”
Meanwhile, the US’ European allies continue to back the deal, saying it has been essential to reining in Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran has for months been preparing for the possibility that Trump will pull out of the nuclear agreement, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said, adding that the US would quickly come to regret such a decision.
The constant fluctuation in oil prices is destabilizing for future investment and security of supply, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said.
Energy market consultant FGE has said that sanctions on Iran could cut its output by up to 500,000 barrels a day by the end of this year.
Since sanctions were eased in January 2016, Iran’s crude production has nearly doubled, while exports last month soared to record levels.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
FUTURE PLANS: Although the electric vehicle market is getting more competitive, Hon Hai would stick to its goal of seizing a 5 percent share globally, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major iPhone assembler and supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s chips, yesterday said it has introduced a rotating chief executive structure as part of the company’s efforts to cultivate future leaders and to enhance corporate governance. The 50-year-old contract electronics maker reported sizable revenue of NT$6.16 trillion (US$189.67 billion) last year. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has been under the control of one man almost since its inception. A rotating CEO system is a rarity among Taiwanese businesses. Hon Hai has given leaders of the company’s six