West Texas Intermediate broke the $73 per-barrel mark on Monday, its highest level since October 2018.

On the supply side, traders are interpreting the election of Ebrahim Raisi in Iran as a blow to the prospects for a new nuclear deal, thus leaving Iranian production subject to strangling US sanctions for the foreseeable future. President Raisi has indicated a willingness to continue the nuclear talks, but has maintained that he will not meet with US President Biden, even in the event that sanctions are lifted.

In the absence of new Iranian production, the OPEC+ deal reached in April seems to be safely holding, with the cartel and its allies gradually easing 2.1 million barrels of daily output back to market through July 1, when the next OPEC+ meeting is scheduled. The IEA has called on OPEC to increase its quotas at the July 1 meeting to adjust to resurgent global demand; however, the bloc is currently expected to hold production levels at current levels.