Latest News

Oil strikes seven-week high up on demand hopes, war jitters

Oil rates hit sevenweek highs on Wednesday as summer demand optimism and concerns over intensifying conflicts balance out a market report that stated U.S. unrefined inventories suddenly increased.

Brent crude futures for August, due to end on Thursday, were up 20 cents to $85.53 a barrel by 1235 GMT, while the more active September contract got 21 cents to $ 84.74.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 3 cents to $ 81.60 per barrel.

The existing picture presents an underwhelming photo however there are green shoots that suggest a more optimistic outlook, said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM.

The Brent cost being $8 over the lows struck in early June shows genuine optimism that the worldwide oil balance will eventually tighten, Varga included.

Both criteria, having actually recuperated strongly in the last 2 weeks, acquired more than $1 in the previous session to seven-week peaks after a Ukrainian drone strike caused an oil terminal fire at a major Russian port.

In the Middle East, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz cautioned of a possible all out war with Lebanon's Hezbollah, even as the U.S. attempted to prevent a broader dispute between Israel and the Iran-backed group.

An intensifying war risks supply interruption in the key oil-producing region.

Any cooling off between both parties appears hard in the near term, which might keep oil prices well-supported as market participants brush off pockets of weakness on the economic front, from weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales to combined sets of information out of China today, stated Yeap Jun Rong, a market strategist at IG in Singapore.

China data today showed May industrial output lagged expectations, but retail sales, a gauge of intake, significant the quickest development since February.

On the other hand, U.S. unrefined stocks rose by 2.264 million barrels in the week ended June 14, market sources said on Tuesday, mentioning American Petroleum Institute figures. Analysts polled by had anticipated a 2.2 million barrel draw in unrefined stocks.

However, fuel stocks fell by 1.077 million barrels, while extracts increased by 538,000 barrels, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Official stocks data from the U.S. Energy Info Administration is due on Thursday.

(source: Reuters)