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Oil drops to $55 as Iran nuclear talks intensify

LONDON (Reuters) – Brent crude oil dropped towards $55 a barrel on Tuesday as Iran and six world powers entered a final day of talks over a nuclear deal that could see the energy-rich country increase oil exports to world markets. With a self-imposed deadline set for the end of the day, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China ramped up the pace of negotiations with Iran in Switzerland over an outline deal on Tehran’s nuclear programme. Disagreements on enrichment research and the pace of lifting sanctions remained as hurdles that could scupper a deal to end a 12-year standoff between Iran and the West. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters in Moscow he believed the talks had a good chance of success. "The chances are high. They are probably not 100 percent but you can never be 100 percent certain of anything," Lavrov said. Western […]

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Iran Talks Weigh on Oil Price

Dow Jones Newswires By Georgi Kantchev LONDON–Oil prices extended their slide on Tuesday as investors awaited the outcome of the Iranian nuclear talks, which could pave the way for more Iranian crude flooding the already oversupplied global market. Iran and six global powers set Tuesday as the deadline to agree on a framework agreement that would outline the main elements of a deal constraining Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting international sanctions. May-dated Brent crude fell 1.6% to $55.41 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in May traded at $47.81 a barrel, down 1.8% from Monday’s settlement. Russia’s foreign minister, who left the nuclear talks in Switzerland on Monday, is planning to return on Tuesday afternoon in a sign that an agreement might be close. Many in the oil market fear that if the sanctions […]

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Natural Gas Bounces Off Seven-Week Low — Update

By Nicole Friedman NEW YORK–Natural-gas prices ticked higher Monday as traders looked ahead to a last bout of cold weather. Futures for May delivery settled up 0.5 cent, or 0.2%, at $2.644 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures fell to a seven-week low Friday as market participants expected the onset of spring to reduce demand for the heating fuel. Although spring has officially begun, some below-normal weather is still expected in the eastern U.S. in the next two weeks. Natural gas consumption rises when temperatures drop, as consumers turn up gas-powered indoor heating and power generators burn more natural gas to meeting electric-heating demand. "There’s still a bit of weather-based demand in this market," said Aaron Calder, analyst at Gelber & Associates, in a note. However, robust production is expected to keep a lid on price gains this spring, analysts say. U.S. natural-gas […]

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These Charts Show Clearly Why Oil Prices Crashed

The geopolitics of oil are complicated, but last year’s oil crash isn’t. There’s one reason above all others for the drop in prices: The U.S. oil boom. Last year was the biggest spike in U.S. oil production since at least 1900, according to a new analysis by the Energy Department.  U.S. production jumped by 1.2 million barrels per day in 2014, to 8.7 million barrels per day. That was the biggest expansion in U.S. crude since record-keeping began in 1900 (which makes it a pretty good bet for the biggest expansion ever). Here’s a chart going back to 1960, published today by the U.S. Energy Information Administration .  Annual Change in U.S. Oil Production (1960-2014) Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Petroleum Supply Monthly The world’s oil supply is outpacing demand in the most uncomfortable way for the oil industry. Some blame OPEC, or Saudi Arabia specifically, for not slowing production. But as […]

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Iran, powers push for nuclear deal as clock ticks toward deadline

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) – Iran and six world powers ramped up the pace at Tuesday’s negotiations over a preliminary deal on the Iranian nuclear program, as their self-imposed deadline approached and both sides warned it was crucial to overcome differences that could wreck an agreement. For nearly a week, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China have been trying to break an impasse in the negotiations, which are aimed at stopping Iran from gaining the capacity to develop a nuclear bomb in exchange for easing international sanctions that are crippling its economy. But disagreements on enrichment research and the pace of lifting sanctions threatened to scupper a deal that could end a 12-year standoff between Iran and the West over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and reduce the risk of another Middle East war. "We need to get this done now," a Western official told Reuters on condition of […]

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Preliminary Nuclear Deal Appears Close, but Tough Issues May Wait

Photo Foreign ministers and delegates on Tuesday in Lausanne, Switzerland, ahead of a deadline on negotiations to limit Iran’s nuclear program. Credit Fabrice Coffrini/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images LAUSANNE, Switzerland — With a deadline just hours away, negotiators from the United States, Iran and five other nations appeared on Tuesday to move closer to a preliminary political accord to limit Tehran’s nuclear program . There were signs, however, that several of the most difficult issues would be deferred for a final agreement in three months. In Moscow, Sergey V. Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said that there was a strong chance of an accord and that he was flying to back to Switzerland on Tuesday, after leaving the day before, to rejoin the talks. “The chances are high,” Mr. Lavrov said. “They are probably not 100 percent, but you can never be 100 percent certain of anything. The odds are […]

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Poll: Clear majority supports nuclear deal with Iran

By a nearly 2 to 1 margin, Americans support the notion of striking a deal with Iran that restricts the nation’s nuclear program in exchange for loosening sanctions, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds. But the survey — released hours before Tuesday’s negotiating deadline — also finds few Americans are hopeful that such an agreement will be effective. Nearly six in 10 say they are not confident that a deal will prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, unchanged from 15 months ago, when the United States, France, Britain, Germany, China and Russia reached an interim agreement with Iran aimed at sealing a long-term deal. Overall, the poll finds 59 percent support an agreement in which the United States and its negotiating partners lift major economic sanctions in exchange for restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program. Thirty-one percent oppose a deal. Support outpaces opposition across nearly all demographic and political […]

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Holds Key to Nuclear Deal

Former Deputy Assistant Defense Sec. KT McFarland joins the News Hub and discusses the ongoing Iran nuclear talks along with the effectiveness of the proposed terms. Photo: AP LAUSANNE, Switzerland—With a key deadline just hours away, U.S. and European officials said nuclear negotiations were imperiled by deep uncertainty over whether Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would sign off on the necessary concessions for a deal. All parties to the talks have set March 31 as the date for concluding a framework agreement that would outline all the main elements of a deal constraining Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting international sanctions. The Obama administration and its negotiating partners have said technical discussions on a final, comprehensive agreement will continue through June. But after more than 18 months of direct negotiations, Western officials said there are signs Mr. Khamenei hasn’t empowered his negotiators to give ground on the […]

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Saudi-led strikes again hit Yemen overnight

ADEN (Reuters) – Air raids by a Saudi-led coalition again hit Houthi militia targets across Yemen on Monday night, striking the group’s northern stronghold of Saadeh, the capital, Sanaa, and the central town of Yarim, residents and media said. "There were huge blazes in the mountains outside Sanaa. It looks like they hit a missile depot and it was on fire for half an hour or so. Then there was anti-aircraft fire until dawn," a Sanaa resident said. The strikes, which began on Thursday, are aimed at stopping the Houthis from taking more territory and pressing them and former president Ali Abdullah Saleh to negotiate a power-sharing deal with President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. The Houthis are from a Yemeni Shi’ite sect and are allied to Iran, Saudi Arabia’s main regional rival. The Saudis and other Sunni Muslim countries in the region fear the advance of the Houthis will ultimately […]

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More Iran oil post-sanctions, aimed at Asia, may hurt Iraq

DUBAI/NEW DELHI/HONG KONG (Reuters) – A possible surge in Iranian oil exports from an end to sanctions will reboot a struggle between top Middle East producers for Asian buyers, with Iraq looking the most vulnerable. The latest twist to the saga of aggressive marketing is the world oil glut and low prices, likely to fall more with added Iranian crude, making Tehran’s battle for market share tougher. "You cannot produce without demand. There is a limit in any market and also long-term contracts between Gulf oil producers and Asian refiners," said a Gulf oil source. "That’s why it is hard to imagine big volumes just eating into the market share just like that. Even if the Iranians offered discounts and sold on the spot market, there is a limit." Under sanctions Iran became adept at offering discounts, easy credit and free shipping to keep in the game, recalling Iraq’s […]

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