Brent crude prices fell for a fourth consecutive session on Monday as investor focus returned to global supply, with Iran insisting on raising in oil exports and US drillers slowing the reduction in rigs.
Global benchmark Brent futures were down 44 cents at $48.28 a barrel, on track for a fourth straight day of losses for the first time in a month. US crude futures traded at $47.87 a barrel, down 54 cents on Friday’s close, Reuters reported.
Iran’s Deputy Oil Minister Rokneddin Javadi told Mehr News Agency on Sunday his country had no plan to halt a rise in oil production and exports. Javadi said Iranian crude exports, excluding gas condensates, were at 2 million barrels per day and would reach 2.2 million bpd by the middle of summer.
His comments further dampened expectation for a coordinated decision to freeze OPEC oil production at a meeting of the exporter group in Vienna on June 2.
The statements came against a backdrop of unplanned oil outages globally hitting a five-year high mainly due to wildfires in Canada that have affected oil-sands production and losses in Nigeria and Libya.
