As fears over Iran's response to a package of incentives to give up uranium enrichment renewed, oil prices climbed back over US$70 a barrel in Asia. Light, sweet crude for July delivery rose to US$70.12 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by morning in Asia.
On Thursday, American and European officials in Vienna urged Tehran to freeze enrichment and stop withholding information about its nuclear program. The chief U.S. delegate to the United Nation's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned that if Iran rejected the incentives, it could face "the weight of the Security Council." Iran's supreme leader refused to "succumb to these pressures." However, the chief Iranian delegate to the IAEA said they were prepared to negotiate.
Iran has not blocked any oil exports, despite diplomatic tensions escalating in previous weeks, many fear that this fourth-largest oil producer in the world, will do so if provoked.
The market has witnessed volatility in previous weeks amid nervousness about the Gulf of Mexico hurricane season, Iran dispute and other geopolitical uncertainties, including the war in Iraq and violence in oil-rich Nigeria.
16-Jun-06 
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