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Talks between Iran and six world powers to
settle a dispute around Tehran's nuclear programme extended
beyond a Tuesday deadline in the Swiss city of Lausanne.
Brent crude for May delivery was down 3 cents at $55.08 a
barrel by 1026 GMT, after reaching a session low of $54.70.
U.S. crude for May delivery was trading 39 cents lower at $47.21
a barrel.
Iranian senior nuclear negotiator, Abbas Araqchi, said that Iran
hoped to wrap up talks by Wednesday night.
"We insist on lifting of financial and oil and banking sanctions
immediately ... for other sanctions we need to find a
framework," he told Iranian state television on Wednesday.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was more cautions, saying
on Wednesday that talks between Iran and world powers were not
sufficiently advanced to ensure a quick conclusion.
Talks had appeared to get bogged down after the United States
warned it was ready to abandon them altogether and Iran affirmed
its "nuclear rights", with officials cautioning any agreement
would probably be fragile and incomplete.
"If you get an agreement, there is the likelihood of Iranian oil
being allowed to hit an already oversupplied oil market and
drive prices lower," said Michael Hewson, chief markets analyst
at CMC Markets.
Iran currently produces around 2.8 million barrels per day
(bpd), according to a Reuters survey, although Western sanctions
limit exports to 1 million bpd. It keeps around 30 million
barrels of crude on its fleet of oil tankers ready to be sold if
possible.
Higher OPEC supply also put pressure on oil prices, after a
Reuters survey showed the oil cartel increased supply in March
by 560,000 bpd, to its highest since October. Iraq's exports
rebounded after bad weather and Saudi Arabia pumped at close to
record rates.
U.S. crude inventories rose for the 12th straight week by 5.2
million barrels, in the week to March 27, according to data from
the American Petroleum Institute. Official stockpile data is due
out on Wednesday at 1430 GMT.
(Additional reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen in Singapore;
Editing by William Hardy)
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