International oil prices closed at a 2-week high on Monday (18th) as Houthi rebels’ attacks on Red Sea shipping heightened market concerns about supply disruptions in the Middle East, allowing crude oil to find support.
Oil giant BP (BP-US) announced on Monday that it would suspend all shipping through the Red Sea due to worker safety concerns.
energy commodity prices
- West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for January delivery rose $1.04, or 1.5%, to settle at $72.47 a barrel.
- Delivered in FebruaryBrent crude oil (Brent) futures rose $1.40, or nearly 1.8%, to $77.95 a barrel.
according toDow JonesMarket data, Brent and WTI crude oilFutures both hit their highest closing prices since December 4.
- Gasoline futures for January delivery rose 1% to settle at $2.16 a gallon.
- Delivered in JanuaryThermal Fuel FuturesPrices rose 2% to $2.67 per gallon.
- Natural gas futures for January delivery rose 0.5% to settle at $2.50 per million Btu.
market drivers
Large container shipping companies have suspended transit through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea and the Suez Canal to prevent attacks by Houthi rebels, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Last week, WTI closed 0.3% higher and Brent rose 0.9%, finally halting after seven consecutive weeks of losses due to Houthi rebels who control most of Yemen attacking ships crossing the Red Sea.
Robbie Fraser, global research and analysis manager at Schneider Electric, said that the Houthi rebels’ attacks have increased in intensity in recent weeks. Although they do not have the ability to block any form of blockade in the area, they can still continue to disrupt shipping and change the risk calculations of shipping companies.
Energy giant BP stated on Monday that in view of the deteriorating shipping safety conditions in the Red Sea, the company has decided to temporarily suspend all shipping through the Red Sea. However, this precautionary measure will be kept under review as the situation in the region develops.
Jack Kennedy, head of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) country risk, global intelligence and analysis at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said the Houthi rebels and their main military backer Iran may be using their offensive capabilities in the Red Sea to further intensify their efforts in the region. exert greater geopolitical influence, in addition to exerting influence on the Israel-Canada war.
“Regardless of the connection to Israel, these attacks are likely to continue to target international shipping,” he said.
After Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, crude oil prices rose slightly as the market worried that the conflict would expand and involve Iran. However, oil prices soon gave up the gains and fell to a six-month low, before recovering slightly. rebound.
Analysts said the Federal Reserve’s signal last week that interest rates may have peaked and reinforced expectations of a rate cut next year also helped support crude prices.
“Fundamentally speaking, the Fed’s decision boosted market hopes for a soft landing, while economic data were mixed, but apparently not bad enough to reignite concerns about a hard landing,” Sevens Report Research said in an analysis report on Monday.
2023-12-18 21:54:10
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