Crude oil firms on OPEC comments on Iran

Forexpros - Crude futures gained in early Asian trading Tuesday, buoyed by comments from OPEC Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri that an E.U. ban on Iranian crude would send prices rising despite abundant supply to make up for the shortfall.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in March traded at USD99.31 a barrel, up 0.54%.

The commodity hit an earlier session high of USD99.32 and a low of USD98.86.

The European Union is set to ban Iranian crude imports in July to sanction the Middle Eastern country for its nuclear ambitions.

Should such a move come to pass, expect prices to climb not on supply issues, as other countries could step in and make up for Iran's loss, but on the geopolitical worries that would follow.

Currently, OPEC nations are pumping 600,000 barrels per day over their  new target of 30 million barrels.

"This will increase volatility in the market, there is no doubt about it," Badri told Reuters.

"For sure, there will be upward pressure for a certain period of time."

Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for March delivery were up 0.13% and trading at USD111.17 a barrel, up USD11.86 from its U.S. counterpart.

The gap in price between the two contracts hovers toward the higher end of a range between a nearly USD20.00 all-time high and a historical spread of USD1.00.