Oil extended losses in the wake of a third weekly retreat as investors weighed the prospect of more Iranian barrels against a drop in U.S. drilling rigs.
Crude in London fell as much as 1.1 percent after declining 2.8 percent last week.
Iran will focus on regaining oil sales it lost due to sanctions regardless of the impact on prices, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said in Tehran. The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted an Iran deal resolution Monday.
The number of active drilling rigs targeting oil in the U.S. shrank by seven to 638, Baker Hughes Inc. said Friday.
Brent’s recovery from a six-year low in January has faltered as leading members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries pump at record levels to defend market share.
Iran may restore production halted by sanctions faster than anyone anticipates if the history of previous shutdowns is any guide, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“There continues to be a lot of talk about Iran and it’s all bearish for the market,” Bob Yawger, director of the futures division at Mizuho Securities USA Inc. in New York, said by phone. “There’s not a lot for the bulls to latch on to at the moment.”
West Texas Intermediate for the more-active September contract dropped 33 cents to $50.88. Total volume was 30 percent below the 100-day average for the time of day.
Brent for September settlement fell 55 cents, or 1 percent, to $56.55 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange at 9:11 a.m. in New York.
The European benchmark crude traded at a $5.67 premium to September WTI.
Iran wants to pump almost 4 million barrels a day within seven months once sanctions are removed and 4.7 million as soon as possible after that, Oil Minister Zanganeh said Monday at a press conference in Tehran.
Under the nuclear agreement Iran and six world powers reached in Vienna last week, the U.S. agreed to end efforts to limit Iran’s oil sales.
Iran had the second-biggest output in OPEC before the European Union banned purchases of its crude in July 2012.
The U.S. weekly rig count, which has declined about 60 percent since December, dropped for the first time in three weeks as of July 17, according to Baker Hughes.
