oil
Oil prices stabilized at the settlement, Monday, influenced by fears that raising US interest rates again will weaken demand for oil, but at the same time it received support from the possibility of supply disruptions due to a tropical storm off the US Gulf Coast.
price movements
Brent crude fell six cents to settle at $84.42 a barrel, after touching a session high of more than $85 earlier in the day.
While US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 27 cents, or 0.3 percent, to settle at $80.10 a barrel.
And the two benchmarks recorded a loss for the second week on Friday, after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that the US central bank may need more interest rate hikes to calm inflation, which is still very high.
China has halved the stamp duty on stock trading in its latest attempt to shore up troubled markets.
Markets are also focusing on Tropical Storm Idalia and the risks it poses to oil and gas production in the US Gulf Coast.
Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said the focus now is on “China’s actions to support its economy, Tropical Storm Idalia heading into Florida and whether Brent can regain momentum above $85”.
Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG Markets, said the most likely impact of the storm would be power outages for a day or two.
This “should give some short-term support to oil prices,” he added.
Oil prices remained above $80 a barrel, supported by lower oil inventories and supply cuts from the OPEC+ group.
Analysts told Reuters last week that Saudi Arabia is expected to extend a voluntary cut of one million barrels per day in production to include the month of October as the kingdom seeks to provide more support to the markets.
2023-08-28 20:17:42
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