Oil edged lower on Friday to about $59 a barrel after tumbling on a build in crude stocks, but trade was muted by a US holiday. London Brent crude shed 7 cents to $59,28 a barrel in early trade after falling by 14 cents a day ago. US crude was trading at $59,07 a barrel, just below Wednesday’s close. The New York Mercantile Exchange was shut for the two-day Thanksgiving holiday, with electronic Global trade continuing but liquidity thin. Prices dropped by about $1 on Wednesday due to a 5,1-million-barrel rise in US crude stocks, but may be drawing support from Iran’s dispute with the West after the United Nations (UN) nuclear watchdog blocked Tehran’s bid for technical aid on reactor project. “The concerns over tensions between Iran and the West flaring again, has resurfaced, this should give upward pressure to prices,” said Dariusz Kowalczyk, senior investment strategist at CFC Securities in Hong Kong. On Thursday, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board indefinitely denied Iran’s request for technical aid for the Arak reactor project it believes could be secretly used to yield bomb-grade plutonium. Iran however insists that its nuclear agenda is limited to generating electricity or as in the case of the Arak project, radio-isotopes for medical purposes. The US and European allies suspect the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme is a cover for building a bomb, and have drafted UN sanctions against Tehran. On Thursday Qatar oil minister dulled down hawkish comments made last week on the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) production cuts. “It’s too early now to jump to the front seat and say what we will do, what is the quantity if we want to cut, Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah told reporters in Seoul. Last week Attiyah said Opec had “no choice but to accept a cut” when it meets in Nigeria next month, and that a $60 US crude oil price was “moderate”. Prices over the past few weeks have dipped below $55 a barrel, before rebounding to about $60 despite bulging US inventories and continued warm winter in the US suppressing demand. “We have conflicting fundamental signals in the market...That’s why we are still dancing around $60,” Kowalczyk said.
