OIL PRICE: ABOVE $74 YET

REUTERS - Oil prices edged lower on Friday, but Brent largely held its gains from the previous session amid concerns that Iran may face renewed sanctions, choking off supply. 

Global benchmark Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down 27 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $74.47 a barrel by 0644 GMT, after rising 1 percent on Thursday. 

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 fell 19 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $68 a barrel. The contract gained 0.2 percent the previous session. 

Brent is heading for a third week of gains, up by 0.5 percent, while WTI is set to drop 0.4 percent for the week. 

"There's a little bit of profit-taking today," said Virendra Chauhan, oil analyst at Energy Aspects in Singapore. 

"The broader narrative, particularly the strength in Brent, is that people are really concerned about going short oil when sanctions are potentially going to be re-imposed and the market is trying to assess what that means for Iranian exports," Chauhan said.

U.S. President Donald Trump will decide by May 12 whether to re-impose sanctions on Iran that were lifted after an agreement over its disputed nuclear program, which would probably result in a reduction of Iranian oil exports. 

Brent has gained 5.9 percent this month on expectations the United States will renew sanctions. 

Concerns about market tightness have also been fueled by the deteriorating political and economic situation in Venezuela that has led to a 40-percent decline in crude output in the past two years. 

Nonetheless, further gains have been capped by rising U.S. production as shale drillers ramp up activity in tandem with the climb in oil prices. 

Surging U.S. production, which rose to 10.59 million bpd last week, has encouraged record-high U.S. exports.

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Earlier: 

2018, April, 25, 10:20:00 OIL PRICE: NOT ABOVE $74 AGAIN REUTERS - Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were at $73.89 per barrel at 0455 GMT, up 3 cents from their last close but around $1.60 below the November-2014 high of $75.47 a barrel reached the previous day. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were flat at $67.7 63 per barrel, but off the late-2014 highs of $69.56 a barrel marked earlier in April.

2018, April, 23, 14:55:00 OIL PRICE: NOT ABOVE $74 YET REUTERS - Brent crude futures were down 49 cents at $73.57 a barrel by 0911 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 51 cents to $67.89 a barrel.

2018, April, 23, 14:50:00 РОССИЯ - ОПЕК: 149% МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - страны ОПЕК и государства, не входящие в ОПЕК, выполнили соглашение по добровольной корректировке объемов добычи нефти на 149%, что является самым высоким показателем в истории соглашения.

2018, April, 23, 14:45:00 РОССИЯ И САУДОВСКАЯ АРАВИЯ - ПАРТНЕРЫ МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - «Активная позиция позволила обеспечить консенсус ведущих стран-производителей нефти по вопросу реализации «венских соглашений» о добровольной корректировке добычи нефти. Рынок видит успехи наших усилий по сокращению объемов запасов и реагирует позитивным образом", - отметил Александр Новак.

2018, April, 20, 09:30:00 OIL PRICE: NOT ABOVE $74 REUTERS - Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were at $73.79 per barrel at 0440 GMT, up 1 cent from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 down 2 cents at $68.40 a barrel.

2018, April, 20, 09:20:00 OIL STOCKS & PRICES UP FT - Oil prices hit their highest level since 2014 on Thursday, moving above $74 a barrel and lifting energy companies to the top of global stock indices.

2018, April, 18, 13:14:00 OIL PRICE: ABOVE $72 AGAIN REUTERS - Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were at $72.07 per barrel at 0659 GMT, up 49 cents, or 0.7 percent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were up 49 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $67.01 a barrel.