Oil prices rise as hopes for stopping the war on Gaza diminish
Oil prices rose in early Asian trading, after hopes faded that negotiations between Israel and Hamas would lead to a ceasefire in Gaza and ease tensions in the region. By 10:02 GMT, Brent crude futures rose 28 cents, or 0.31%, to $90.66 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 24 cents to $86.67.
Brent suffered its first losses in five sessions and West Texas Intermediate fell for the first time in seven sessions against the backdrop of a possible decline in geopolitical risks after a new round of ceasefire discussions between Israel and Hamas in Cairo on Monday at the end of an effort that lasted several sessions.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that an undisclosed date had been set for the Israeli invasion of Rafah, which IG market analyst Tony Sycamore wrote in a note that “puts an end to hopes that briefly prevailed in the market yesterday that geopolitical tension in the region “It may subside.”
The market continues to evaluate the possibility of oil supply disruption. Analysts from ANZ said in a note to clients that the Iranian response to the suspected Israeli attack on its consulate in Syria “may make the oil market vulnerable to the conflict, after it has been largely unaffected since the Hamas attack on Israel.”
Last week, Tehran vowed revenge after the air strike in Damascus, although Israel did not claim responsibility for the attack.
Mexican state oil company Pemex said it would reduce crude oil exports by 330,000 barrels per day so it can supply more to local refineries, reducing supplies available to buyers from the United States, Europe and Asia by a third.
Pemex has already reduced its exports in April by 436,000 barrels per day.
Among the factors affecting oil demand expectations, the US employment report on Friday indicated that the economy ended the first quarter with strong results, which may prompt the Federal Reserve to postpone interest rate cuts this year.
Investors are awaiting consumer price index data in the United States and China this week, searching for more signals about the timing of possible cuts in US interest rates and measuring the economic recovery in China.
Crude oil prices jumped 4% last week, with Brent crude futures rising for the fourth week in a row, the longest rise since August of last year.
(Reuters, Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed)
2024-04-09 08:09:39
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