WTI refreshes 13-month high above $57.00 as US-Iran tussle intensifies

• WTI takes the bids while keeping the week-start jump above $57.00.
• Iran wants removal of sanctions, US return to the 2015 nuclear accord to comply with the deal.
• US stimulus hopes also back the energy prices even as vaccine news dwindle off-late.

WTI stays bid around $57.25, following its week-start run-up from $56.93, during Monday’s Asian trading. The energy benchmark seems to have taken clues from the weekly news suggesting further tension between the US and Iran. Also favoring the bullish sentiment could be the hopes of getting US President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion covid relief package.

During the weekend, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, per Reuters, that Tehran’s “final and irreversible” decision was to return to compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal only if Washington lifts sanctions on the Islamic Republic. The comments came in after US President Joe Biden said, “the United States would not lift sanctions simply to get Iran back to the negotiating table, appeared to be posturing by both sides as they weigh whether and how to revive the pact.”

Other than Iran’s demand for the US to remove all sanctions, its top diplomat, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif added to the list while urging, per Reuters, that US to return to the 2015 nuclear accord, pointing out that legislation passed by parliament forces the government to harden its nuclear stance if U.S. sanctions are not eased by Feb. 21.

Elsewhere, US President Biden’s optimistic stimulus recently crossed the Senate to return to Congress for further details. While the Republicans are trying to keep their offer around $700 billion, Democratic Party seems ready to go ahead with nearly $2.0 trillion of package.

Also affecting the risks and commodities could be the latest news suggesting that the virus vaccines from Oxford-AstraZeneca fail to tame the South African variant of the virus.

Amid these plays, S&P 500 Futures print 0.10% intraday gains while the US 10-year Treasury yields remain positive around the highest levels since March 2020.

Moving on, a lack of major data/events in Asia keeps oil traders looking for further developments surrounding the Tehran-Washington tension for fresh impulse.

Technical analysis

Unless declining back below February 2020 peak surrounding $54.70, WTI is on the way to attack the late January 2020 high of $59.30 before highlighting the $60.00 for the oil buyers.