The U.S. push to reduce Iranian oil exports to zero will tighten crude markets significantly in the short term, but is unlikely to have a big effect on prices over a longer period, Barclays said in a note on Monday.
Washington this week demanded that buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions, a move to choke off Tehran’s oil revenues that sent crude prices to six-month highs on fears of a potential supply crunch.
“The announcement implies material upside risk to our current $70 per barrel average price forecast for Brent this year, compared with the year-to-date average of $65 per barrel,” the British bank said.
