European Union governments have reached a preliminary agreement to ban imports of Iranian crude to the EU but have yet to decide when such an embargo would be put in place, EU diplomats said on Wednesday.

Diplomats said that EU envoys held talks on the issue in the last days of December and that any objections to the idea, notably from Greece, were dropped.

'A lot of progress has been made,' one EU diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity. 'The principle of an oil embargo is agreed. It is not being debated anymore.' 

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures rose more than $1 on Wednesday and US crude erased losses and turned higher on the EU plan.

Brent February crude rose $1.07 to $113.20 a barrel by 9:53 am (1453 GMT) and US February crude rose 34 cents to $103.30 a barrel.  - Reuters