Oil prices ease ahead of Iran nuclear talks
With nuclear talks set to begin anew Wednesday, oil prices dip in Asian trade. 'Iran is likely to be one of the factors,' analyst says
New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in December, fell 31 cents to $93.53, while Brent North Sea crude for January was also down 31 cents at $108.19.
"Iran is likely to be one of the factors," Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, told AFP.
"Also I think it's a case of a relatively subdued beginning of the week news-wise," he added. "There's a little bit of profit-taking as we head into a new week."
Negotiations between Iran and the so-called P5+1 – Britain, France, the United States, Russia and China plus Germany – restart in Geneva on Wednesday after the last round failed to seal a deal.
Top diplomats insisted they were closing in on an interim agreement that would see Iran, a huge producer of oil, curb or freeze parts of its nuclear program for some relief from crippling sanctions.
Israel and the West suspect Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons capability alongside its uranium enrichment program, which Tehran insists is entirely for peaceful purposes
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