Oil price hit $82.55 per barrel, its highest since November 2014
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Oil prices rose Tuesday on global supply concerns following U.S. sanctions on Iran’s oil exports, with benchmark Brent surging to a four-year high, then retraced gains to settle just slightly higher after U.S. President Donald Trump called again on OPEC to boost crude output.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday took aim at Saudi Arabia and its refusal to lead an increase in oil production, telling the UN that Opec members were “as usual ripping off the rest of the world”.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, Mr Trump told Opec that the US was “not going to put up with . . . these horrible prices much longer”. His warning came in a speech to the international body in which the US president also urged other countries to help squeeze the regime in Tehran by cutting oil imports from Iran. “I don’t like it, and nobody should like it,” Mr Trump said about Opec. “We defend many of these nations for nothing and then they take advantage of us by giving us high oil prices, not good. We want them to stop raising prices, we want them to start lowering prices, and they must contribute substantially to military protection.” Mr Trump has repeatedly bashed Opec on Twitter, telling producers to raise output to keep oil prices in check. Higher prices at the pump could hurt Republicans in the midterm elections where the loss of the House or Senate could spark major ramifications for Mr Trump, including a possible push for impeachment.
By the end of the day, Brent oil edged further away from the four-year high on U.S. crude fell, after the U.S. said it would ensure crude markets are well supplied before sanctions are re-imposed on Iran and as President Donald Trump criticized high prices.
