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TOKYO / LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices fell more than 1 percent on Friday, as Libyan ports reopen and amid hopes that Iran will still export some of the latest U.S. sanctions.
Brent crude LCOc1 was down $ 1, or 1.3 percent, at $ 73.45 a barrel by 0840 GMT, heading for a weekly fall of around 4 percent.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude benchmark CLc1 lost 22 cents to $ 70.11, set for a weekly decline of around 5 percent.
Oil approached $ 80 in June and early July due to Libyan and Venezuelan supply disruptions and fears the United States would press all buyers of Iranian oil to cut imports to zero.
OPEC member Libya reopened its ports in the east and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington would consider granting waivers to some of Iran's crude buyers.
Also slid amid different market fears that a U.S.-China trade dispute could hit global economic growth.
"While the oil market could not escape the tensions and souring sentiment in financial markets," Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke said.
"If Iran was blocked from the market, we would think about $ 90 per barrel, which would cause significant fuel inflation, weigh on consumer and business sentiment and eventually hurt the economy," he added.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) warned on Thursday that the world was short of spare supply and could be further disrupted.
"Rising production from Middle East Gulf countries and Russia, which is likely to be stretched to the limit," said the Paris-based IEA said in its monthly report.
"This vulnerability is likely to continue," said the agency.
OPEC crude supply (Source: IEA) reut.rs/2NLDrgP
CHART: US oil may retest support at $ 69.19 bit.ly/2Nbo3sH
CHART: Brent oil may retest support at $ 72.56 tmsnrt.rs/2NJLFFX
Reporting by Aaron Sheldrick and Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Dale Hudson
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