Oil Rises with Equities as Middle East Tensions Grow
by Bloomberg | Julia Fanzeres
click here to read this article at Rigzone.com
*this article was not written by Roseland Oil & Gas
Oil rose alongside equities, with the widening conflict in the Middle East adding to crude’s gain.
West Texas Intermediate rose 2.1% to settle above $74 a barrel for the first time this year, with crude futures tracking broader markets for much of the session. Geopolitical risks also bolstered prices as the US struck more than a dozen Houthi missiles in Yemen, its latest response to the Tehran-backed group’s repeated attacks on shipping. Elsewhere, Pakistan carried out retaliatory strikes in Iran.
Meanwhile in the US, crude stockpiles dropped 2.49 million barrels last week and now are at the lowest level since October, according to an Energy Information Administration report Thursday.
Despite the muted activity in headline prices in recent days — WTI futures have traded in a roughly $6 band so far this year — there have been some bigger moves further along the curve. Key timespreads in the US surged on Wednesday as a chunk of domestic production was curtailed by cold weather.
Crude has remained rangebound in the opening weeks of the year, looking for direction amid the escalating crisis in the Middle East and bets that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates later than had been expected. Traders are also gauging the impact of supply cuts from OPEC and its allies.
The Paris-based IEA said supply from the US, Brazil, Canada and Guyana will lead to another year of robust additions from outside of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies.
Prices:
- WTI for February delivery rose $1.52 to settle at $74.08 in New York.
- Brent for March settlement rose $1.22 to settle at $79.10 a barrel.
by Bloomberg | Julia Fanzeres
click here to read this article at Rigzone.com
*this article was not written by Roseland Oil & Gas