But sources in OPEC and the oil industry have told Reuters that Tehran appeared more willing to support such talks scheduled in September in Algeria.
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US crude oil prices surged 1.43% to $48.10 per barrel, while Brent, the global benchmark, increased by 1.6% to settle at around $49.96.
The news sparked oil prices and bullish traders’ sentiments, as Iran’s letter to OPEC members is another signal that a deal could be expected from the production talks.
Tehran’s refusal to go along led to the collapse in April of previous talks between OPEC and Russian Federation on freezing production.
“Even with OPEC and Russian collusion to freeze production, crude oil supply would still be in abundance”.
Despite rebounding this year, oil still trades at less than half of mid-2014 levels, with the market still anxious about a glut that spurred the biggest price rout in a generation.
An attempt to jointly freeze production levels earlier this year failed after Saudi Arabia backed out over Iran’s refusal to take part of the initiative, underscoring the difficulty for political rivals to forge consensus.
“The current price level of well over $40 does not provide non-OPEC producers with any kind of motivation to support oil prices by cutting or maintaining current production levels”, said Tamas Varga, analyst at London-based energy broker PVM.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Iraq had not reached its full oil exports potential as his government urged foreign oil firms in the country to raise output.
Goldman supports this outlook by noting that in the second half of this year at least 100,000 barrels per day of oil will be unleashed by Libya, Iraq, and Nigeria alone, putting further pressure on the market and prompting the bank to forecast crude remaining in the $45-to-$50 range through next summer.
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But the gains were reversed in Asian trade after data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) overnight showed USA crude inventories rose by 4.5 million barrels in the week ending August 19, after falling by one million barrels the week before.
