Oil steady after year’s biggest rally as Iraq spat curbs exports

Oil steadied after its biggest rally of the year as a disagreement between Iraq and its Kurdish region curtailed exports, while fears over a fallout from the banking crisis receded.

West Texas Intermediate futures traded near US$73 a barrel after jumping more than 5 per cent on Monday in the steepest surge since October. A legal dispute between Iraq, its semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan and Turkey has halted around 400,000 barrels a day of flows from Ceyhan port.

“The Iraq dispute has given support to prices, but it’s ultimately helped push a ball that was already rolling,” said Ole Sloth Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank. “Sentiment in the market has been improving as the banking crisis fades.”