OIL PRICE: NEAR $75 YET

REUTERS - Oil rose on Monday as investors remained cautious over the supply outlook, although the fallout from global trade tensions limited price gains.

October Brent crude futures were last up 36 cents at $75.12 a barrel by 0902 GMT. The September contract expires on Tuesday. U.S. crude futures were up 78 cents at $69.47 a barrel.

The oil price has been rallying almost uninterruptedly for the past two weeks, in part as trade tensions between the United States and China have heated up, but also as looming sanctions on Iran have already started to curtail flows of oil from the country.

"There are a myriad of factors to follow at the moment in the oil market but one way or the other we always arrive at the same conclusion. It is the impact of the U.S. sanctions on Iran that will decide the next $15 a barrel," PVM Oil Associates Tamas Varga said in a note.

"The best case scenario is that the U.S. provides meaningful sanction waivers in the run-up to the mid-term elections and Iran can get away with a loss of around 500-700,000 barrels per day of exports. In case, however, President Trump plays hardball and puts its allies and foes under maximum pressure the loss of barrels could amount to 2 million barrels per day."

The U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in nearly four years in the second quarter, but with Washington and Beijing at loggerheads over trade, oil prices could struggle this week, analysts said.

"Oil prices could struggle this week," said Stephen Innes, head of trading APAC at OANDA Brokerage.

"Concerns around the U.S.-China trade wars continue to weigh on prices, while the halt in Saudi shipments through the Red Sea waterway has seemingly failed to provide a bullish fillip," he said.

Saudi Arabia last week said it was suspending oil shipments through the Red Sea's Bab al-Mandeb strait, one of the world's most important tanker routes, after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis attacked two ships in the waterway.

U.S. energy companies added three oil rigs in the week to July 27, the first time in the past three weeks that drillers have increased activity, data released on Friday that showed.

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Earlier: 

2018, July, 27, 12:53:57 OIL PRICE: ABOVE $74 YET REUTERS - Brent futures were down 5 cents at $74.49 a barrel by 0319 GMT, after gaining 0.8 percent on Thursday. They are heading for a near 2 percent gain this week, the first weekly increase in four. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were 5 cents lower, at $69.56, after rising nearly 0.5 percent in the previous session. The contract is heading for a 1.3 percent weekly loss, a fourth week of declines.

2018, July, 25, 10:20:00 OIL PRICE: NEAR $74 AGAIN REUTERS - Brent crude was up 54 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $73.98 a barrel by 0318 GMT. The global benchmark settled 38 cents higher at $73.44 a barrel on Tuesday, after climbing to as high as $74. U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 24 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $68.76, having settled the previous session up 63 cents, or nearly 1 percent.

2018, July, 25, 10:10:00 ROSNEFT: OIL PRICE $75 PLATTS - "Our own budget is based on a price of $63/b. Today we see that prices are around $75/b, I think that prices will be at around this level -- $75, or a maximum of $80/b," Sechin said when asked about his expectations for price levels by the end of 2018.

2018, July, 25, 09:45:00 THE DIFFICULT IRANIAN SANCTIONS OGJ - “Russia already has improved its relations with Iran. Given its foreign policy stance toward the US, this could grow if it believes it would undermine the US position. Russia is taking a long-term view. It sees several obstacles, which it is determined to overcome.”

2018, July, 23, 13:55:00 OIL PRICE: NEAR $74 REUTERS - Brent crude oil LCOc1 rose $1.19 a barrel to a high of $74.26 before easing to around $74.05 by 1030 GMT. U.S. light crude CLc1 was up 70 cents at $68.96 a barrel.

2018, July, 23, 13:50:00 ЦЕНА URALS: $ 73,53905 МИНФИН РОССИИ - Средняя цена на нефть Urals за период мониторинга с 15 июня по 14 июля 2018 года составила $ 73,53905 за баррель, или $ 536,8 за тонну. Согласно расчетам Минфина России экспортная пошлина на нефть в РФ с 1 августа 2018 года понизится на $ 3,7 и составит $ 135,4 за тонну.

2018, July, 16, 11:05:00 OIL PRICE: NEAR $75 REUTERS - Brent crude futures were down 66 cents, or 0.9 percent, at $74.67 a barrel at 0645 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 57 cents, or 0.8 percent, at $70.43 a barrel.