Oil hits four-year high at $81 as OPEC+ resists output rise

The benchmark Brent was last trading up 76 cents at $81.82 a barrel, while WTI crude gained 34 cents at $72.42 a barrel.

Crude is slated for its fifth consecutive quarterly increase, the longest stretch of gains since early 2007, when a six-quarter run led to a record price of $147.50 a barrel.

The United States will implement Iran’s oil exports with sanctions from Nov.4, and has asked governments and companies around the world to stop purchases.

“Iran will lose sizeable export volumes, and given OPEC+ reluctance to raise output, the market is ill-equipped to fill the supply gap,” Harry Tchilinguirian, global head of commodity markets strategy at BNP Paribas, told the Reuters Global Oil Forum.

Last Friday, US President Donald Trump, in a tweet, said that OPEC should increase its supplies to make up for the expected fall in Iranian exports.

Last week, the OPEC+ group, which includes Russia, Oman and Kazakhstan, met at Algiers ruled out any immediate boost in oil output.