ADVERTISEMENT

Oil Poised For Weekly Gain With Eyes On Middle East, Equities

Oil steadied after a three-day rebound, with traders monitoring developments in the Middle East and a rally in wider markets.

Storage tanks at the West Indies Oil Company terminal in St. John's, Saint John Parish, Antigua, Saturday, April 22, 2023. Antiqua is part of a twin-island nation lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean consisting of two major inhabited islands and a number of smaller islands. Photographer: Bing Guan/Bloomberg
Storage tanks at the West Indies Oil Company terminal in St. John's, Saint John Parish, Antigua, Saturday, April 22, 2023. Antiqua is part of a twin-island nation lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean consisting of two major inhabited islands and a number of smaller islands. Photographer: Bing Guan/Bloomberg

Oil steadied after a three-day rebound, with traders monitoring developments in the Middle East and a rally in wider markets. 

Brent traded near $79 a barrel after rising 1.1% on Thursday and West Texas Intermediate was above $76, as signs of resilience in the US labor market lifted stocks. The US, Qatar and Egypt are calling for a new round of cease-fire talks to end the war in Gaza, while the region braces for an expected Iranian attack on Israel.

Oil Poised For Weekly Gain With Eyes On Middle East, Equities

Oil has rallied after Brent tumbled on Monday to a seven-month low, tracking a rout in global equity markets. Futures are set to end a four-week run of losses, with the halting of Libya’s biggest field, a sixth week of US stockpile draws and Ukraine’s incursions into Russia compounding the bullishness.

Meanwhile, jet fuel demand is on the mend in China. The rare bright spot comes after months of bearish signals, including data this week that showed that the world’s biggest crude importer had shipped in the fewest barrels in almost two years in July.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.