The price of Iran's crude oil eased off from its recent rally in the week to January 6, amid uncertainties on whether a planned supply cut by OPEC and non-OPEC countries would be enough to lift faltering prices.
Iran's light crude settled down 9 cents at $53.22 per barrel with its heavy crude trading down 20 cents to $52.84 in the week, Shana reported on Saturday, citing a report by the Oil Ministry.
Both crudes have firmly held above $52 a barrel this year, faring far better than the average price of $41 a barrel for light crude and $39.19 for heavy oil in 2016.
The price of OPEC's basket of 13 crudes stood at $52.30 a barrel on Thursday, the 13-member organization said in a statement.
Oil prices fell on Friday, the week's last trading day, on doubts over the extent of supply cuts and concerns over demand for crude oil by the world's second-largest oil consumer China.
Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, traded down 58 cents, or 1%, at $55.43 a barrel on Friday. Brent has gained more than 20% since OPEC members reached a deal in Vienna on Nov. 30 to erode their collective output by around 1.2 million barrels per day. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled down 64 cents, or 1.2%, to $52.37.
Khalid al-Falih, Saudi energy minister, said the country's crude output has be cut to below 10 million bpd, but Frankfurt-based Commerzbank AG said “these claims cannot be verified,” casting doubt on whether producers can be trusted with their own production figures.
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