Oil prices hit 2019 highs on Tuesday after Washington announced that all Iran sanction waivers would end by May, pressuring importers to stop buying from Tehran.
Despite the move by Washington, analysts said global oil markets would be able to cope with the Iran disruption as there was enough spare capacity from other suppliers.
Brent crude futures were at 74.58 dollars per barrel at 0628 GMT, up 0.7 per cent from their last close and their highest level since Nov. 2018.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures marked their strongest since Oct. 2018 at 65.10 dollars per barrel, up 0.8 per cent from their previous settlement.
The United States on Monday demanded that buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions, ending six months of waivers which allowed Iran’s eight biggest buyers, most of them in Asia, to continue importing limited volumes.
Before the re-imposition of sanctions last year, Iran was the fourth-largest producer among the…
