Oil slides to lowest since 2003 as Iran sanctions lifted

Singapore – Oil prices hit their lowest since 2003 on Monday, as the market braced for a jump in Iranian exports after the lifting of sanctions against the country over the weekend. In London, crude oil prices continued to slide Monday with the Brent global benchmark and its US counterpart West Texas Intermediate firmly entrenched under $30 a barrel. Brent fell 1.28% to $28.54 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange for March loadings as the raising of Iranian oil sanctions weighing heavily on sentiment. WTI is still trading on its February contract and is less affected by the return of Iranian crude oil. However, it was still down 1.5% to $28.99 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The UN nuclear watchdog on Saturday said Tehran had met its commitments to curtail its nuclear program, and the United States immediately revoked sanctions that had slashed Iran’s oil exports [...]