Oil markets are entering an unprecedented period of uncertainty due to geopolitical instability and a fragile global economy, the head of the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday. Concerned about an emerging production overhang similar to the one that led to a price slump in 2014, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is pushing for a supply cut of 1 million to 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd). The United States restored sanctions targeting Iran’s oil sector in early November, cutting the country’s crude exports by close to 1 million bpd from a summer peak. Although Washington has pledged eventually to halt all of Iran’s global sales of crude oil, for now it has said eight buyers – China, India, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Greece, Taiwan and Turkey – can continue imports without penalty. “The U.S. decision on the Iranian sanction waivers took some of the players in the market by surprise,” the IEA’s Fatih Birol said in an interview on the sidelines of a conference. “As a result, what we see today is that markets are well supplied and the (oil) price went down by $20,” Birol said.  Reuters

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