VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Oil prices extended declines from the previous session on Wednesday as tensions in the Middle East eased after Saudi Arabia ended an air strike campaign in Yemen, but industry leaders said the market could rebound as attention turned to rising demand.

Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) should prepare for extra Iranian crude production when Western sanctions on Tehran are lifted, Iran's oil minister was quoted on Tuesday by state news agency IRNA as saying.

Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi says Saudi Arabia is producing near record levels of crude in April, underscoring the kingdom's willingness to defend market share at a time when oil markets have staged a fragile recovery.

Oil prices ended in positive territory on Monday after a drop in stockpiles at the delivery point for U.S. crude in the second half of last week outweighed pressure from near record high production in Saudi Arabia.

Crude futures fell from 2015 peaks in choppy trading on Friday, but Brent's 9.6 percent weekly gain was its biggest in more than five years as Middle East turmoil and signs of lower U.S. production lifted prices.

Saudi Arabia has reduced contractual crude supplies to some customers in Japan and South Korea since March by trimming the volumes of oil loaded, six industry sources familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Brent oil fell nearly 4 percent on Thursday after a preliminary pact between Iran and global powers on Tehran's nuclear program, even as officials set further talks in June and analysts questioned when the OPEC member will be allowed to export more crude.

Oil prices fell on Monday as officials from Iran and six world powers discussed a possible deal over Tehran's nuclear program that could bring an end to sanctions and allow an increase in Iranian oil exports.

The euro rose and European shares edged up on Tuesday, responding to signs the euro zone economy is gaining momentum, while a slowdown in factory activity in China kept oil and commodities-linked assets under pressure.

OPEC will not take sole responsibility for propping up the oil price, Saudi Arabia's oil minister said on Sunday, signaling the world's top petroleum exporter is determined to ride out a market slump that has roughly halved prices since last June.

Saudi Arabia's OPEC governor Mohammed al-Madi said on Sunday that he believed it would be difficult for oil to reach a price range of $100-120 per barrel again.

Oil prices have started to stabilize around $60 a barrel in past weeks and will continue to firm up, while crude demand will grow stronger, an adviser to Saudi Arabia's oil minister said on Sunday.

Metals company Alcoa Inc (AA.N) on Monday it would acquire titanium supplier RTI International Metals Inc (RTI.N) as it continues to invest in more profitable products for the aerospace and automotive industries.

Saudi Arabia overtook India to become the world's biggest weapons importer in 2014, a year when global defense trade rose for the sixth straight year to a record $64.4 billion, research company IHS said on Sunday.

Saudi Arabia's oil minister said on Wednesday he expected oil prices, which hit a near six-year low in January, to stabilize, signaling cautious optimism about the market outlook.