Oil steadies as tightens market on lost supply

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices steadied on Friday as an escalating trade dispute between the United States and other major economies in the United States.

U.S. light crude oil CLc1 was 20 cents lower at $ 73.25 per barrel by 0905 GMT. On Thursday, the contract hits its highest since November 2014 at $ 74.03 per barrel.

Brent crude LCOc1 was up 40 cents at $ 78.25 a barrel.

Trade disputes between the United States and China, India and the European Union on the other side of the world.

Investors worry that tariffs on exports, including U.S. crude oil, will be hampering the flow of goods and stall trading and eventually hit demand for oil.

Marcraft Spectron's Commodities Brokerage said this week that the macroeconomic outlook was "overwhelmingly bearish".

Despite the trade dispute, oil supply is tight.

North American oil stocks have fallen to an average of 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) of production. Suncor Energy ( SU.TO ).

Outside North America, record demand and voluntary supply cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Unplanned supply disruptions from Libya to Venezuela have further tightened the market.

OPEC and Russia have said that they are going to have to go back to the end of the day.

"The Clear Message from the OPEC + Meetings was that those countries would spare to the market well-supplied," U.S. Jefferies Bank said on Friday.

The U.S. Government Is Trying to Shut Iran out of oil markets when it fully implements its sanctions in November.

"The Trump Administration looks polite to carry on with Tehran," Phillip Futures said.

Major buyers of Iranian oil, including Japan, India and South Korea, have indicated that they may stop importing Iranian crude if U.S. sanctions are imposed.

Until then, however, Asia is buying as much Iranian oil as possible. Imports of Iranian crude oil by major buyers in Asia rose in May to the highest in eight months.

China, India, South Korea and Japan last month imported 1.8 million bpd from Iran, up 15 percent from a year ago.