Oil prices firm on summer demand as Iran talks drag | Reuters

Oil prices firm on summer demand as Iran talks drag | Reuters

Oil prices edged higher on Monday, underpinned by strong demand during the summer driving season and a pause in talks to revive the Iran nuclear deal that could lead to a resumption of crude supplies from the OPEC producer.

Brent crude for August gained 23 cents, or 0.3%, to $73.74 a barrel by 0825 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for July was up 29 cents, or 0.4%, at $71.93 a barrel.

Both benchmarks have risen for the past four weeks on optimism over the pace of global COVID-19 vaccinations and expected pick-up in summer travel. The rebound has pushed up spot premiums for crude in Asia and Europe to multi-month highs. read more

"Oil's underlying physical demand picture remains positive," said OANDA analyst Jeffrey Halley. "Despite the noise in financial markets, the real world is on the right track and will require increasing amounts of energy as it reopens."