MARKET WATCH: Brent crude oil prices approach $85/bbl on supply concerns

Oil & Gas Journal: Light, sweet crude oil prices for November and December jumped more than $2 to settle above $75/bbl on the New York market Oct. 1 while Brent crude oil for December and January also climbed more than $2 to settle above $84/bbl.

Analysts attributed the oil price jump to concerns about lower levels of world oil supply, noting Iranian exports are falling. US oil sanctions against Iran take full effect in early November.

“Concerns about tight supply are driving oil prices significantly further up,” Commerzbank analysts wrote in a research note. “News that China is now also reducing its oil purchases from Iran presumably gave the final push. This is likely to see Iranian oil exports fall by 1.5 to 2 million b/d.”

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