Visitors and employees attend the Iran Oil, Gas, and Petrochemical International Exhibition on May 6 in Tehran. Crude oil prices climbed on Wednesday, with the benchmark West Texas Intermediate grade up $2.19, or 3.2 percent, to $71.25 a barrel for June delivery. The International Monetary Fund said last week that crude prices would need to average nearly $88 a barrel for the kingdom to balance its budget. The International Energy Agency forecasts an increase of 1.5 million barrels a day in global oil consumption in 2018. Theyexpect Iran’s oil exports to drop by between 350,000 and 500,000 barrels a day over the next six months.

Source: Washington Post May 09, 2018 19:15 UTC