Written on: May 8, 2018
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
The President is to announce his decision on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (Iran nuclear deal) this afternoon, at 2pm. The leaders of both France and Germany recently visited, aiming to persuade him to continue with the agreement. A US withdrawal from the agreement could raise tensions in the region, and the re-imposition of sanctions on Iran would likely affect oil flows and the Iranian economy.
Crude oil and refined products strengthened across the board on Monday, with WTI crude hitting new multi-year highs, amid gains in US stock market indexes and concerns over the Iran agreement, despite an uptick in the value of the dollar. Brent crude gained $1.30, settling at $76.17 a barrel and WTI crude settled at $70.73, up $1.01 a barrel. Gasoline futures added 2 cents for at $2.1340 per gallon settlement and heating oil settled 3.10 cents higher at $2.1850. Natural gas futures strengthened 3.0 cents, settling at $2.741 per MMBTU yesterday amid forecasts for warmer-than-normal weather and some cooling demand.