The Iran imbroglio is the latest in a recent string of recent tensions to lift oil prices. Last month, oil surged after a pipeline blast in Libya and bullish Saudi Arabia budget forecasts sent prices to their highest levels since mid-2015.
Saudi Arabia projects oil revenue to jump about 80% by 2023 and expects its first budget surplus in a decade. Officials calculate rising prices and expanded output will raise income from oil sales to 801.4 riyals, or $214 billion, from 440 billion riyals this year. The kingdom is the largest OPEC producer.
“As concerns of a supply disruption from Iran start to wane, as seems likely, the focus will shift back to the fundamentals. The IEA, among others, predict a return to inventory builds in the first and possibly second quarter of this year,” according to OilPrice.com.
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