Oil rises on tensions after Middle East tanker attacks

TOKYO, June 17 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Monday after
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington will take
all actions necessary to guarantee safe navigation in the Middle
East, as tensions mounted following attacks on tankers last
week.
Brent futures LCOc1 rose 27 cents, 0.4% to $62.28 a barrel
by 0040 GMT. They rose 1.1% on Friday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were
up 18 cents, or 0.4%, at $52.69 a barrel. They rose 0.4% in the
previous session.
Prices had jumped as much as 4.5% on Thursday after the
attacks on two oil tankers near Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.
It was the second time in a month tankers have been attacked
in the world's most important zone for oil supplies as tensions
increase between the United States and Iran. Washington blamed
Iran for Thursday's attacks, prompting a denial and criticism
from Tehran. "We don't want war. We've done what we can to deter this,"
Pompeo said in an interview with Fox News Sunday, adding: "The
Iranians should understand very clearly that we will continue to
take actions that deter Iran from engaging in this kind of
behaviour."
Tensions between Iran and the United States have risen since
U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of a deal last year
between Iran and global powers that aimed to curb Tehran's
nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief.
Iran has repeatedly warned it would block the Strait of
Hormuz if it cannot sell its oil because of U.S. sanctions.
Also supporting prices were comments over the weekend by the
Saudi energy minister, Khalid al-Falih, that OPEC would probably
meet in the first week of July and he hoped it would reach an
agreement on extending oil output curbs. "We are hoping that we will reach consensus to extend our
agreement when we meet in two weeks time in Vienna," Falih told
reporters while attending a G20 energy and environment
ministerial meeting in Karuizawa, northwest of Tokyo.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus
Russia and other producers, an alliance known as OPEC+, have a
deal to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from
Jan. 1. The pact ends this month and the group meets in coming
weeks to decide the next move.