He Petroleum stabilized on Tuesday, as investors assess the possible impact on oil supplies of attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen to ships passing through Red Seawhich are affecting the maritime trade and forcing routes to be altered.
Crude oil prices gained almost 2% on Monday on fears of trade disruptions across the Suez Canalthe shortest sea route between Europe and Asiawhich represents around 15% of global maritime traffic.
At 09:14 GMT, the Brent oil gave up 12 cents, at $77.83 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate In the United States (WTI) for January, which expires on Tuesday, it lost 62 cents, to 71.85 dollars, while the most active contract for February subtracted only 3 cents, Reuters reported.
Although attacks on shipping have boosted the geopolitical risk premium, “the real effect on oil flows is likely to be limited,” said John Evans of the brokerage PVM. “The attacks have not affected anything that could interfere with production,” she said.
The analysts of Goldman Sachs They highlighted that the disruptions are unlikely to have a large effect on crude oil and gas prices. liquefied natural gas (LNG)since the possibility of diverting vessels suggests that production should not be directly affected.
Oil companies are already taking measures due to the attacks in Yemen
The oil company B.P. temporarily interrupted its transit through the Red Sea and the group of oil tankers Frontline declared on Monday that its ships would avoid the route, indicating that the crisis is spreading to energy transports.
The attacks prompted the United States and its allies to discuss creating a task force to protect the Red Sea routes, a move that Iran, archenemy of Israel and the United States, has warned would be a mistake.
The latest data on supplies in the United States will also be known this week. According to a Reuters poll, US inventories are expected to decline by 2.2 million barrels. The first of the two reports of the week, that of the American Petroleum Institute, will be published late this Tuesday.
Source: Ambito
