Crude oil trades lower on imminent Iran nuclear deal

Crude oil traded lower on Thursday to halt its four-day rally, as a deal between Iran and U.S. over the former’s nuclear program could be reached soon.

Iran’s foreign minister told NBC the deal was “very close,” where the talks will resume on March 15 on hopes an agreement could be reached at the end of the month.  

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said a nuclear deal with Tehran would lower security concerns of Gulf Arab countries.

A nuclear deal with Iran could remove Western sanctions and thereby cause an oversupply in the oil market.

As known, one of the main factors behind the sharp fall in crude prices is the oversupply coming from the U.S. shale output and OPEC’s decision to maintain its monthly quota.

The EIA report released on Wednesday showed that the U.S. build crude stocks of 10.3 million barrels the previous week from 8.4 million barrels a week earlier.

The U.S. dollar rose to hit an 11 1/2-year high against a basket of major currencies, ahead of tomorrow’s NFP report. The dollar index hit a peak of 96.60, while currently hovers around 96.36. 

As of 08:30 p.m. GMT, crude oil for April delivery traded around $50.75 a barrel, where the lowest level in the session was recorded at $50.61.