Mubasher: Oil prices rose on Wednesday as supply cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and US sanctions against Iran and Venezuela provided support, but worries over economic growth kept capped price gains.

By 8:34 am GMT, global benchmark Brent futures rose 0.34% to $67.84 per barrel (pb), after touching $68.20 pb; their highest since 16 November, while US Nymex crude futures inched up 0.05% to $59.06 pb, having traded at $59.57 pb, the highest since 12 November.

Crude prices have climbed by nearly a third this year, after OPEC agreed with non-affiliated producers, including Russia, to reduce market supply by nearly 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd).

In addition, sanctions against major oil exporters Iran and Venezuela helped to tighten market supply, pushing prices higher.

“The shaky supply outlook with regard to Venezuela and Iran, as well as the petro-nations’ output restrictions are top of mind in the oil market,” Swiss bank Julius Baer economics head Norbert Ruecker told Thomson Reuters.

However, worries persisted over a global economic slowdown which could hamper fuel consumption, as well as oversupply, creating headwinds for oil, futures brokerage FXTM analyst Lukman Otunuga told the news agency.

Business morale across Asia hovered near a three-year trough in the first quarter of this year as trade dispute between the US and China weighed, pulling down a global economy which is already showing signs of sluggish growth, a survey conducted by Reuters showed on Wednesday.

Crude prices would be standing around $70 pb as fuel price inflation would hit demand at that level, Ruecker said.

“The US shale boom almost fully meets global oil demand growth mirrored by the strongly expanding crude oil exports,” which reached a record of 3.6 million bpd last February, he added, predicting US shale oil growth over the next year at 1.2 million bpd.