World Bulletin / News Desk

Asian energy firms retreated Tuesday after a plunge in oil prices, while the pound's troubles mounted on worries about Britain's plans to leave the European Union.

The deal sent the cost of a barrel surging last month towards $60 on hopes the cuts could reduce a global glut that had sent prices to near 13-year lows last February.

However, Iraq’s oil minister said exports from its southern ports reached a record high in December, leading to suspicion it will not stick to the cuts, which came into effect on January 1.

"The Iraqi headlines have raised concerns about compliance," John Kilduff, a partner at New York-based hedge fund Again Capital LLC, told Bloomberg News.

"We need to see compliance outside of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the other Gulf states."

While both contracts edged up Tuesday, regional energy firms fell although they pared early losses. Sydney-listed Woodside Petroleum lost 0.1 percent and BHP Billiton was down 0.4 percent.

Inpex lost 1.5 percent in Tokyo and CNOOC was down 1.3 percent in Hong Kong. PetroChina was flat.

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