Oil hits US$60 a barrel for the 1st time in 3 months
Futures climbed 1.4% in New York, reaching US$60 for the first time since Sept 17.
SINGAPORE: Oil rose to US$60 a barrel for the first time in almost three months after US President Donald Trump signed off on a partial trade deal with China, giving a boost to the fragile outlook for global oil demand.
Futures climbed 1.4% in New York, reaching US$60 for the first time since Sept 17, and are on track for a slight weekly increase.
The phase-one agreement averts new US tariffs that were set to be introduced Dec 15, although the legal text hasn’t been finalised, according to people familiar with the matter.
Crude is poised for a modest gain this week due to the positive sentiment around the trade deal, having surged by more than 7% last week as Opec and its allies announced a surprise production cut.
Yet as the details of the US-China agreement remain scarce, and concerns linger over whether Opec will follow through on its agreement, the sources of support for prices appear fragile.
“Risk appetite among financial investors is now likely to remain high thanks to the deal between the US and China,” said Eugen Weinberg, head of commodities research at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt.
Yet “the oil market risks facing a massive oversupply and a pronounced inventory build, at least in the first half of the year.”
West Texas Intermediate for January delivery rose US$0.82 to US$60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 6:48am local time.
Brent for February settlement added 1.7% to US $65.27 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe Exchange. The global benchmark traded at a $5.38 premium to WTI for the same month.
Other oil-market news
Moody’s Investors Service has a sunny outlook on the global oil and gas industry heading into next year, even as volatile energy prices hammer the sector and add to a mountain of debt.
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