Singapore March 21 2025: Oil prices rose in early Asian trading on Friday, and were set for their second consecutive weekly gains, after fresh U.S. sanctions on Iran and a new OPEC+ plan for seven members to cut output raised bets on tightening supply.
Brent crude futures climbed 42 cents, or 0.6%, to $72.40 per barrel by 0026 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 45 cents, or 0.6%, to $68.52 a barrel.
On a weekly basis, both Brent and WTI were on track to rise about 2%, their biggest weekly gains since the first week of 2025.
The United States Treasury on Thursday announced new Iran-related sanctions, which for the first time targeted an independent Chinese refiner among other entities and vessels involved in supplying Iranian crude oil to China.
That marked Washington’s fourth round of sanctions against Iran since U.S. President Donald Trump in February vowed to reimpose a “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran, pledging to drive the country’s oil exports to zero.
Analysts at ANZ Bank said they expect a 1 million barrels per day (bpd) reduction in Iranian crude oil exports because of tighter sanctions.
