Oil prices held little changed on Tuesday, as more evidence emerged that crude exports from Iran are declining in the run-up to the reimposition of U.S. sanctions, while a hurricane moved across the Gulf of Mexico, Reuters reports.

Further increase of oil prices to $100 per barrel would not be a huge change, UK-based Capital Economics consulting company said in its report obtained by Trend.

Oil prices rose by nearly 1 percent on Thursday, driven by the prospect of a shortfall in global supply once U.S. sanctions against major crude exporter Iran come into force in just five weeks’ time, Reuters reports.

Major oil trading houses are predicting the return of $100 crude for the first time since 2014 as the market braces for the loss of Iranian supplies because of U.S. sanctions, Bloomberg reports.

Oil prices were mixed on Friday after falling in the previous session as U.S. President Donald Trump urged OPEC to lower crude prices ahead of its meeting in Algeria this weekend, Reuters reports.

Oil rose for a third day on Thursday amid another drawdown in U.S. inventories and strong U.S. gasoline demand, while signs OPEC may not raise output to address shrinking supplies from Iran also supported prices, Reuters reports.

Oil prices were steady on Wednesday as concerns that producers will not be able to respond to a shortfall in supply once U.S. sanctions on Iran are enacted outweighed a gain in stockpiles in the United States, the world’s biggest oil user, Reuters reports.

Global oil prices edged up from early losses on Monday despite assurances from Washington that Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United States can raise output fast enough to offset falling supplies from Iran and elsewhere, Reuters reports.

The price of the AZERI LT CIF oil, produced at the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli block of oil and gas fields, amounted to $79.69 per barrel at the Italian port of Augusta on Sept. 13, or $1.81 less than on Sept. 12, a source in Azerbaijan's oil and gas market told Trend Sept. 14.

Oil prices fell on Thursday, reversing some of the strong gains from the previous session, as economic concerns raised doubts about ongoing fuel demand growth, Reutersreports.