LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — Oil futures eased in electronic trade Friday, with some analysts citing profit-taking after sharp gains helped by strong U.S. economic data and news on the West’s negotiations with Iran.
“We see potential for improvement in WTI crude oil’s direct fundamentals in the weeks ahead, but Thursday’s advance had more to do with WTI looking cheap compared with other, tighter segments of the market,” he wrote.
Several analysts linked Brent’s 1.9% climb Thursday to reports of difficulties in negotiations with Iran, currently taking place in Geneva. Western powers hope to get Tehran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for a relaxation of economic sanctions.
But Citi Futures’ Evans said the Iranian news had more impact on sentiment than on fundamentals.
“Much of the market worry over a possible six-month Iranian nuclear deal was due more to the worry it might prompt other traders to sell than from any sudden jump in physical oil supplies, as lifting the oil embargo is being held as leverage for an eventual long-term agreement,” he wrote.
“We continue to see additional Iranian barrels as more of a possibility for the second half of 2014 than an immediate prospect,” Evans wrot
