Oil prices extended gains on Thursday after the killing of a Hamas leader in Iran raised the threat of a wider Middle East conflict and concern over its impact on oil.
Crude oil prices spiked after Israel assassinated Hamas’s political leader on Iranian soil, leading to threats of retaliation from Tehran.
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East, combined with record US oil demand, has created a bullish environment for oil prices.
Early on Thursday morning, WTI was trading around $78.50 while Brent had climbed above $81.
Crude oil prices continued to fall on Tuesday, with WTI trading just above $75 and Brent slipping below $80.
Concerns about Chinese demand continue to drag prices lower, with expectations of China’s manufacturing activity shrinking for a third month in a row.
In some bullish news, Venezuela’s election results could lead to tighter US sanctions and lower oil supply.
Oil prices were little changed on Monday after Joe Biden announced he would not seek a second term as U.S. president, while investors watched for more signs that U.S. interest rates could be cut as early as September.
Oil prices fell in Friday trade in Asia and were poised for a second straight weekly decline as concerns about demand more than offset falling U.S. crude inventories and rising odds of a September interest rate cut from the Fed.
A stronger dollar tends to lower oil prices as buyers using other currencies have to pay more for their dollar-denominated crude
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) raised its Brent oil price forecasts for 2024 and 2025 in its latest short term energy outlook (STEO), which was released this week
ExxonMobil expects its upstream earnings to be up to $700 million higher for the second quarter compared to the first quarter of the year, due to higher liquids prices, the U.S. supermajor said on Monday in a preview of its Q2 results.
Brent crude soared to $87.50 per barrel on July 4th for the first time since mid-April, holding firm as a flurry of bullish news supports crude prices in early July. The surge was driven by oil supply threats from Hurricane Beryl and a bullish oil inventory report from the EIA.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has unveiled a new initiative, AfriPERF, to fast-track the utilisation of Africa’s vast petroleum resources, which are estimated at 620 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas and 125 billion barrels of crude oil.