Oil prices firm on summer demand as Iran nuclear deal revival talks drag
LONDON (Reuters) -Oil prices edged higher on Monday, underpinned by strong demand during the summer driving season and a pause in talks to revive the Iran nuclear deal that could lead to a resumption of crude supplies from the OPEC producer.
Brent crude for August gained 23 cents, or 0.3%, to $73.74 a barrel by 0825 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for July was up 29 cents, or 0.4%, at $71.93 a barrel.
Both benchmarks have risen for the past four weeks on optimism over the pace of global COVID-19 vaccinations and expected pick-up in summer travel. The rebound has pushed up spot premiums for crude in Asia and Europe to multi-month highs.
