SINGAPORE: Brent crude oil prices hit their highest level since November 2014 on Monday ahead of U.S. sanctions against Iran that kick in next month.Brent crude oil futures were trading at $83.24 per barrel at 0228 GMT, up 51 cents, or 0.3 percent, their highest level since November 2014.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 37 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $73.62 a barrel. However, China's Sinopec <600028.SS> is halving loadings of crude oil from Iran this month, in a sign that pressure from Washington is having an effect. President Donald Trump called Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Saturday, discussing ways to maintain sufficient supply once Iran's exports are hit by sanctions. "We're going to find out very soon as approximately 1.5 million barrels (per day) of Iranian oil is effectively going offline on Nov. 4.

Source: thestar October 01, 2018 03:28 UTC