Oil & Gas - Energy - Commodities - Resources (OILBRENT)

[DocLevi]

.... Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at energy research consultancy Energy Aspects, told CNBC that she expected prices to go lower in the short-term, with Brent dropping to the high $40 level and WTI breaking below the $40 mark.

"It's (trading) positioning and the U.S. dollar that is accentuating the downtrend, for sure," the London-based analyst told CNBC Tuesday.

"This is seasonality as well, we forget, its March, April. This is exactly when oil falls every single year. Sure, we usually come off from $110 down to $90, but this is the time when refineries go into maintenance."....

Oil prices are also under pressure because of signs that Iran could move to boost its oil production. On Monday, Iran's oil minister said the country was ready to step up production by 1 million barrels per day if international sanctions were lifted, according to IRNA news agency.


U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was locked in talks on Tuesday with his Iranian counterpart in the Swiss city of Lausanne. Also on Tuesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the country was already producing more oil, despite the sanctions, according to Reuters.


Kevin Book, research team head at ClearView Energy Partners, told CNBC on Tuesday that a deal with Iran was "more likely than not" and that Tuesday's oil price move "might be actually unduly bearish."


Washington D.C.-based Book said there was a more than a 50 percent chance of Iran being welcomed back into the international community, but that it would be through a series of "gates and steps" that could take time.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102510933#.
Oil touches six-year low as Iran talks weigh

Matt Clinch | @mattclinch81
2 Hours Ago