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Oil prices rise as trade deals take centre stage - YAHOO FINANCE
BY Pedro Goncalves Finance Reporter, Yahoo Finance UK
Oil (BZ=F, CL=F)
Oil prices rose on Thursday morning, supported by renewed optimism surrounding US trade negotiations and a sharper-than-expected decline in American crude inventories, both of which eased investor concerns about global economic pressure.
Brent (BZ=F) crude futures gained 0.6% to trade at $68.90 per barrel, at the time of writing, while West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) futures climbed by the same margin to $65.67 a barrel.
The uptick followed signs of progress in tariff negotiations between Washington and its trading partners, which analysts said calmed fears over potential economic fallout.
“Buying was driven by optimism that progress in tariff negotiations with the US would help avoid a worst-case scenario,” Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief strategist of Nissan Securities Investment, a unit of Nissan Securities, told Reuters.
“Still, uncertainty over US-China trade talks and peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia is limiting further gains,” he added, predicting WTI will likely remain range-bound between $60 and $70.
On the supply side, data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed that crude inventories fell by 3.2 million barrels last week to 419 million barrels, a larger drop than analysts had anticipated.
Gasoline stockpiles also posted a significant decline, falling by 1.7 million barrels to 231.1 million, nearly double the expected 908,000-barrel draw. Meanwhile, distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 2.9 million barrels to 109.9 million. Despite the increase, they remain near their lowest seasonal levels since 1996.
