Morning Market Overview

Oil prices are trading higher as of this writing on a round of short covering. U.S. President Donald Trump is set to review whether to waive or reimpose sanctions on Iran this week, a decision that has implications on Iran’s oil exports. The review comes after Iran has faced two weeks of anti-government protests after its economy didn’t benefit to the extent expected from the lifting of international sanctions two years ago.

But on Thursday UAE oil minister and current OPEC President Suhail al- Mazrouei said he expects the market to balance in 2018 and that the producer group is committed to its supply reduction pact until the end of this year. Production cuts led by OPEC and Russia, which started in January last year and are set to continue throughout 2018, have underpinned prices.

Still, downward pressure emerged in the physical market, where OPEC’s second and third-largest producers, Iran and Iraq, this week cut their prices to remain competitive.