Brent oil trades near four-year high, but U.S. crude retreats | Reuters

Brent oil trades near four-year high, but U.S. crude retreats | Reuters:

Brent crude was trading around its highest in nearly four years on Wednesday, while U.S. crude futures fell as Washington tried to assure consumers that the market would be well supplied before sanctions are re-imposed on producer Iran.

Brent crude futures were up 10 cents, or 0.1 percent, at $81.87 a barrel by 0645 GMT, after gaining nearly 1 percent the previous session. Brent rose on Tuesday to its highest since November 2014 at $82.55 per barrel.

U.S. crude futures were down 4 cents at $72.24 a barrel. They climbed 0.3 percent on Tuesday to close at their highest level since July 11.