Return of US$100 oil seen by top traders

File pic: A pump jack lifting oil out of a well, during a sandstorm in Midland, Texas, April 13, 2018. - Reuters)

LONDON: Major oil trading houses are heralding the return of US$100 crude for the first time since 2014 as the market braces for the loss of Iranian supplies because of US sanctions.

Mercuria Energy Group Ltd co-founder Daniel Jaeggi said prices may spike to over US$100 a barrel in the fourth quarter because the market doesn’t have much capacity left to replace more than two million barrels a day of Iranian exports that could be lost to sanctions. Trafigura Group co-head of oil trading Ben Luckock sees US$90 oil by Christmas and US$100 in early 2019.