2018 ARAB NEWS August 22, 2018 22:52 172 American Petroleum data showed crude stocks fell last week by 5.2 million barrels LONDON: Oil rose to a two-week high on Wednesday as US sanctions on Iran and a sharp decline in inventories pointed to a tighter market. American Petroleum data showed crude stocks fell last week by 5.2 million barrels, more than three times as much as analysts had estimated. Official government data also released yesterday showed the biggest decline in crude stocks since late July. That helped pushed Brent crude for October delivery above $74 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude rose above $67. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery added $1.37 to $67.21 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday. Total volume traded was about 38 percent below the 100-day average. Brent for October settlement climbed $1.47 to $74.10 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The global benchmark crude traded at a $6.84 premium to WTI. “The report was supportive due to the large drop in crude oil inventories, which occurred due to high demand from refiners,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital Management in New York, Reuters reported. The data was published amid increasingly belligerent rhetoric between the US and Iran over the reimposition of sanctions by Washington. US National Security Adviser John Bolton told Reuters that the return of US sanctions was having a strong effect on Iran’s economy and popular opinion. “There should not be any doubt that the US wants this resolved peacefully, but we are fully prepared for any contingency that Iran creates,” Bolton said during a visit to Israel. Meanwhile, a senior Iranian cleric told worshippers at Eid prayers in Tehran: “The price of a war with Iran is very high for America. “They know if they harm this country and this state in the slightest way the US and its main ally in the region, the Zionist regime, would be targeted,” Ahmad Khatami said. OPEC and other oil-exporting producers are expected to agree on a mechanism to monitor their crude production before the end of the year, Bakhit Al-Rashidi, Kuwait’s oil minister said yesterday. A committee set up by OPEC and allied non-OPEC exporters will review production at a gathering in Algeria next month, he said. “The production numbers of OPEC and (countries) outside OPEC will be reviewed at the meeting in Algeria, and before the end of the current year, there will be an agreement on a mechanism to monitor output next year,” he told reporters. The monitoring committee is due to meet in Algeria on Sept. 23. Iran wants to attend the meeting to defend its market share.