Brent Climbs Above $106 After Iran Refuses To Make Nuclear Program Completely Transparent

Brent crude oil traded at $106.18 at 5:20 GMT on Tuesday morning after being on a roller coaster ride throughout diplomatic talks between Iran and the West over Iran's nuclear program. Talks between the two were expected to produce an agreement over the weekend, however come Monday a deal proved elusive. Related: #PreMarket Primer: Tuesday, November 12: China's Economic Blueprints Anxiously Awaited However, the Wall Street Journal reported that Iran did agree to open up some parts of its nuclear program to inspection on Monday. Although the agreement does not satisfy the US' requirement that the country's nuclear program be totally transparent, Iranian officials did make some concessions to allow international regulators to inspect certain aspects of the country's nuclear production. Western leaders have been skeptical as several major parts of the nation's nuclear infrastructure will remain a mystery under the new plan. In order for Western nations to lift the sanctions on Iranian oil, Iran will be expected to make all of its nuclear plants available for inspection. When the deal was signed, both sides expressed optimism about the direction of the talks and vowed to resume the discussion on November 20th. Sanctions on Iranian oil have long pushed Brent prices well above $100 as they've kept over one million barrels of crude per day from world markets. Brent prices were under pressure from positive US jobs data which added to speculation that the Fed could start tapering its $85 billion per month bond buying plan. The Fed's taper would lend strength to the dollar, thus making Brent more expensive to holders of other currencies.