NEW YORK, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices finished slightly higher on Tuesday as tensions in the Middle East bolstered the market while the gains were trimmed by concerns over a possible slowdown in energy demand.
The West Texas Intermediate for August delivery climbed 17 cents to settle at 57.83 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for September delivery rose 5 cents to close at 64.16 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
Iran announced on Monday that it has raised the concentration of its enriched uranium to 4.5 percent, crossing the limit of 3.67 percent set by the landmark 2015 nuclear deal.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said later in the day that his country will continue to pile up economic pressure on Iran and defend U.S. interests as Tehran went one step further to endanger the nuclear deal.
France, Germany, Britain and the EU High Representative on Tuesday expressed "deep concerns" over Iran's fresh move to raise the concentration of its enriched uranium beyond agreed limits, calling for an urgent meeting of a joint commission on the issue.
A year after the U.S. unilateral exit from the nuclear deal, Iran withdrew from part of the nuclear deal on May 8 and threatened more actions in case its interests under the pact cannot be guaranteed.
Oil prices were propped up as market participants were worried that the heightening geopolitical tensions in the Middle East may disrupt oil flows. Meanwhile, traders continued to fret over global economic slowdown, which would impact oil demand, experts noted.
"New economic concerns and a firmer U.S. dollar are putting oil prices under pressure," analysts at Commerzbank said in a note Tuesday. Enditem
Latest comments