Oil Prices Soar: Brent and WTI Approach $80 Barrier

2023-07-24 19:34:43
Closing price: Oil prices continued their rise on Monday, which began about a month ago, boosted by the prospect of supply permanently below demand, accentuated by the shutdown of a refinery in Louisiana.The price of a barrel of Brent BRENT Brent or North Sea crude is a variation of crude oil serving as a benchmark in Europe, listed on the InterContinentalExchange (ICE), a stock exchange specializing in energy trading. It has become the first international standard for setting oil prices. North Sea for September delivery gained 2.05%, to close at $82.74.

As for the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI WTI West Texas Intermediate (WTI), also known as Texas Light Sweet, is a variation of crude oil that serves as a standard for pricing crude oil and as a commodity for oil futures contracts on the NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange), the energy exchange.) American of the same maturity, it gained 2.16%, to 78.74 dollars. In session, the WTI reached 79.28 dollars, not far from the symbolic threshold of 80 dollars, which it has not crossed since mid-April.

“Crude has been trending higher for almost a month,” “and today’s move is an extension of that momentum,” says Eli Rubin of EBW Analytics Group.

At the end of June, “analysts were already talking about bullish signals”, “but since prices had not moved for months”, operators were still reluctant to commit, according to the analyst.

???????? Saudi Arabia’s production cut of 1 million barrels per day in July, as well as the first tangible signs of a contraction in Russian exports, have lit the fuse.

Macroeconomic indicators showing a slowdown in inflation and the new boost from Wall Street did the rest.

Today, “traders see oil as more attractive than US equities,” argues Eli Rubin, “and if the WTI WTI West Texas Intermediate (WTI), also known as Texas Light Sweet, is a variation of crude oil that serves as a standard for pricing crude oil and as a commodity for oil futures contracts on the NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange), the energy exchange. reached $80, it could take things even further.”

???????? Prices were also boosted on Monday by the shutdown of an ExxonMobil refinery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which several American media reported.

According to the Bloomberg agency, the unit whose activity was suspended produced around 120,000 barrels of gasoline per day.

⛽️ In response, the benchmark US gasoline futures contract took off more than 3.5% on Monday, to a height it hadn’t seen in nearly nine months.

For Edward Moya, of Oanda, the oil heat stroke is all the more impressive as it comes against a backdrop of economic slowdown, as further illustrated by the PMI activity indices published on Monday.

Whether in Germany, France, the United Kingdom or the United States, activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in July.

But, for Edward Moya, these figures increase the probability of a near end to the cycle of monetary tightening on both sides of the Atlantic, which is seen favorably for the demand for black gold.