Brent falls to $97.2 per barrel

Oil prices fell on August 15 morning on fears of a reduction in global demand and an increase in supply in the event of successful negotiations on a nuclear deal with Iran, reported from Trading Economics.

October Brent futures fell $0.98 (1%) on the London ICE Futures Exchange to $97.17 per barrel. On August 12, Brent fell $1.45 to $98.15 a barrel.

September futures for WTI in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) fell by $0.9 (0.98%), to $91.19 per barrel. During the previous session, the contract fell by $2.25 to $92.09 per barrel.

The European Union at the talks on the restoration of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) proposed to ease the sanctions imposed against the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Politico reported.

According to the newspaper, this proposal was included in the draft document after 16 months of negotiations. It specifically provides that "non-US citizens" who do business with Iranians not on US sanctions lists will not be subject to sanctions even if their Iranian counterparts do business with those Iranian structures or individuals against whom sanctions have been imposed.

Last week, OPEC lowered its 2022 oil demand growth forecast by 0.3 million bpd to 3.1 million b/d due to some regional developments. Growth forecast for 2023 is maintained at 2.7 million b/d, according to the organization's monthly report.

Thus, in 2022, according to OPEC, oil consumption will be 100.03 million b/d, and not 100.3 million b/d, as previously expected.

The number of active drilling rigs in the United States rose by 3 units last week to 601, oilfield service company Baker Hughes said.