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Talks of looming Iran nuclear accord push crude down

Wednesday, 01 April 2015 11:33 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 01 April 2015 11:36 AM ]

Oil prices slide over optimism in Iran's nuclear talks.

Crude prices take a tumble over speculations of a nuclear accord between Iran the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany.

Oil prices fell in Asia Wednesday after Russian and Iranian foreign ministers announced a breakthrough in talks in Switzerland over Tehran's nuclear program that could ease sanctions on the crude producer.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for May delivery eased 15 cents to $47.45, while Brent crude for May fell five cents to $55.06 in afternoon trade.

Russia's Sergey Lavrov and Iran's Mohammad Javad Zarif said Wednesday that they and foreign ministers of five other major powers would work through the night to agree the main outline of what they hope will be an historic accord, AFP reported.

The United States, China, Britain, Russia, France and Germany hope a full agreement, due to be finalized by June 30, will see Iran further scale back its nuclear capability.

In return, Tehran, which has time and again underlined the peaceful nature of Iranian nuclear activities, is demanding the removal of all sanctions.

A deadline of midnight for Tuesday talks was scrapped after the US reportedly insisted enough progress had been made to warrant extending the marathon meetings.

With the world's fourth-biggest oil and second-biggest gas reserves, the energy industry is the cornerstone of Iran's economy.

Crude dealers, meanwhile, are awaiting the latest official US stockpiles report due for release later Wednesday for clues about demand in the world's top consumer.

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