Oil prices at six month high after US ends sanction waivers

Oil prices have reached a near six month high after the US announced on Monday it will end waivers for five countries importing Iranian oil.

The price of Brent rose to $74.57 a barrel on Tuesday, the highest since November. 

The White House announced on Monday that it would not renew waivers for five countries that import Iranian oil - China, India, Turkey, South Korea and Japan. 

The waivers are due to expire in May, and could see the countries face US sanctions if they continue to receive Iranian oil shipments.

Despite repeated threats from President Donald Trump that the waivers will end, financial analysts have been surprised by the sudden announcement from the White House.

"While we acknowledge the near-term upside price risks, we reiterate our fundamentally derived Brent price trading range of $70-75 per barrel for the second quarter of 2019," Goldman Sachs said in a statement, according to the Financial Times.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have said they will make up for the shortfall in supplies supplies to stabilise the market and prevent a sharp rise in oil prices.

India has said that it has been looking for alternative suppliers, while Turkey has responded in anger at the US ultimatum.

Iran has threatened to close to Strait of Hormuz, where around 20 percent of the world's oil trade passes through.