Oil advanced as the US tightened sanctions against Iran and Russia, countering some of the slump triggered by a dour demand forecast from the International Energy Agency on Thursday.
Brent rose above $70 a barrel, supported by signs of reprieve also in US equity markets. The White House imposed sanctions on Iran’s oil minister and on more companies and vessels used by the OPEC member, while also restricting payment options for Russian energy.
The decline on Thursday came after the IEA said a supply surplus is set to deepen as an escalating trade war pressures demand at the same time that OPEC+ is reviving output. A recovery on Friday was only narrowly preventing West Texas Intermediate from logging an eighth weekly decline for the longest losing stretch since August. Brent dodged a fourth weekly drop.
“Looser balances in the second half of the year should see Brent crude push back toward $70 a barrel by year-end,” ANZ Group Holdings Ltd. analysts Daniel Hynes and Soni Kumari said in a note. There’s some short-term bullishness as “tariffs on Canadian crude and rising disruptions to supply from Iran and Venezuela keep the market tight.”
source: finance.yahoo.com
