Crude oil prices increased this Friday, although they still recorded a small weekly loss.
The prices of Petroleum rose this Friday to their highest in more than five months, driven by tensions in Middle East, where the fear of an attack grows Iran after a military operation attributed to Israel against it and the possibility of an interruption in the supply of crude oil.
After what happened with the economic data of USA, in London, the price of a barrel North Sea Brent for delivery in June rose 0.79%, to $90.45, even trading at $92.18 during the session, for the first time since the end of October. Meanwhile, in NY, the price of a barrel West Texas Intermediate (WTI) For May, it had an advance of 0.75%, reaching $85.66. Thus, losses ranged between 0.5% and 1% on a weekly basis.
Concern about the possibility that Iran retaliate for Monday’s attack by suspected Israeli warplanes on the Iranian embassy in Damascus has held oil near six-month highs this week.
“The market’s main concern is whether Iran will retaliate against Israel”, said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, considering that fear of a supply interruption associated with events in the Middle East supports prices.
USA expects an attack by Iran against Israel, but one that would not be large enough to drag down Washington to war, according to a US official. Iranian sources said that Tehran has signaled a response aimed at preventing further escalation.
What can happen to the supply?
Supply chain issues continue to carry the highest risk premium as Iran maintains its threat to shut down the Suez Canal, said Tim Snyder, an economist at Matador Economics.
While the International Energy Agency reduced its global oil demand growth forecast for 2024 to 1.2 million barrels per day.
The OPEC+ said on Thursday that global oil demand will increase by 2.25 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024.
Friday’s gains erased losses from the previous session, which was dominated by the stubborn iAmerican inflation which dampened hopes of an interest rate cut as early as June.
Source: Ambito
