Investing.com - Oil prices remained near multi-year highs on Tuesday morning in Asia amid looming U.S. sanctions against Iran.
Crude Oil WTI Futures for June delivery were trading at $70.98 a barrel at 11:10PM ET (03:10 GMT), up 0.03%. Brent Oil Futures for July delivery, traded in London, were down 0.06% at $78.28 per barrel.
Shanghai Crude Oil WTI Futures for September delivery were up 0.77% at 472.20 yuan ($74.40) per barrel.
Oil markets have been on edge since U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the international nuclear deal with Iran, raising the risk of conflict in the Middle East and casting uncertainty over global oil supplies.
Iran currently produces around 4% of global oil supplies and is the third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Traders expect Iran’s oil exports to fall significantly once U.S. sanctions bite later this year. Around a million barrels of oil a day is likely to disappear, threatening to tip the already tightening oil markets into undersupply.
Markets have generally tightened as OPEC, led by Saudi Arabia, has been withholding supplies since 2017 in order to push up oil prices.
Meanwhile, demand has continued to surge in Asia.
The tightening market has all but eliminated a global supply overhang which depressed crude prices between late 2014 and early 2017.
OPEC figures published on Monday showed that oil inventories in OECD industrialised nations in March fell to 9 million barrels above the five-year average, down from 340 million barrels above the average in January 2017.
Rising U.S. drilling for new oil production has kept oil prices in check.
U.S. drillers added 10 oil rigs in the week to May 11, bringing the total count to 844, the highest level since March 2015.
China also seems ready to fill the gap that will be created by U.S. sanctions against Iran.