Oil steady near one week high as prospect of #Iran glut wanes | Reuters

Oil steady near one week high as prospect of Iran glut wanes | Reuters

Oil prices were steady on Tuesday, holding around one-week highs after jumping more than 3% the previous session as investors tempered expectations of an early return of oil exporter Iran to international crude markets.

Brent crude futures were down 1 cent at $68.45 a barrel by 0701 GMT, having jumped 3% on Monday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were off 8 cents at $65.97 a barrel, after gaining 3.9% the previous session.

Indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran are due to resume in Vienna this week. Talks were given another life after Tehran and the U.N. nuclear agency extended a monitoring agreement on the Middle Eastern country’s atomic programme.

Worries that Iran was soon going to start selling oil if an agreement resulted in the lifting of U.N. and other sanctions on crude exports had previously pulled down prices, but talks have not been conclusive.