Singapore — Oil prices were near 2019 highs on Tuesday after Washington announced all Iran sanction waivers would end by May, putting pressure on importers to stop buying from Tehran. Despite the move by Washington, observers like US bank Goldman Sachs 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 $74.29 per barrel at 0442 GMT, up 0.3% from their last close and not far off a 2019 peak of $74.52 reached on Monday. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures hit their highest level since October 2018 at $65.95 per barrel before edging back to $65.86 by 0239 GMT, which was still up 0.5% from their last settlement. The US 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 reimposition of sanct...
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