OIL FUTURES: Crude Sheds Early Iran Gains; Below $100 Near Close

Published: Jan 26, 2012

By David Bird
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES


NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Crude oil futures, up 2% earlier on fresh worries about an oil supply cut from Iran, were trading weaker, below $100 a barrel heading into the close of trading Thursday.

Prices had climbed after Iran said it was considering an immediate halt to crude oil exports to the European Union in response to the E.U. trade embargo set to take effect July 1. Iran sells about 600,000 barrels a day of crude to E.U. nations.

But the International Energy Agency said later it was monitoring the situation and could release strategic inventories if a supply emergency occurred. The IEA said it doesn't now see the need for a stock release in response to the Iranian threat.

Light, sweet crude oil for March delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped to a late low of $99.23 a barrel, off 17 cents on the day. Earlier it hit a one-week high of $101.39 a barrel.

-By David Bird, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2141; david.bird@dowjones.com