Oil steadied after hitting prices not seen in roughly a decade on Thursday, as sellers jumped in on hopes that the United States and Iran will agree soon to a nuclear deal that could add barrels to a badly undersupplied market.
Trade was volatile, however, as investors anticipate ongoing disruption to worldwide oil flows due to heavy sanctions on Russia after Moscow invaded Ukraine a week ago. Russia exports 4 to 5 million barrels of crude per day, second-most worldwide behind Saudi Arabia, and companies are now shunning Russian supply and scrambling for barrels elsewhere.
