Oil rises as draw in US crude stocks signals firm demand
TOKYO: Oil prices inched higher, extending gains from the previous day as a larger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude stocks signalled firm demand, while investors remained cautious about the Iran-Israel ceasefire and stability in the Middle East.
Brent crude futures rose 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $67.83 a barrel by 0330 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 20 cents, or 0.3%, to $65.12 a barrel.
Both benchmarks climbed nearly 1% on Wednesday, recovering from early-week losses after data showed resilient U.S. demand.
'Some buyers are favouring solid demand indicated by falling inventories in U.S. weekly statistics,' said Yuki Takashima, economist at Nomura Securities.
'But investors remain nervous, seeking clarity on the status of the Iran-Israel ceasefire,' he said, adding that market attention is now shifting to OPEC+ production levels.
Takashima forecast WTI would likely return to the $60-$65 range, its pre-conflict levels.
ANZ analysts said that with the de-escalation of conflict between Iran and Israel, the market's focus had returned to fundamentals, and pointed to data showing U.S. crude oil inventories fell for a fifth straight week.
Oil prices drop 6pc
'US government data showed the US driving season is in full swing after a slow start,' ANZ analysts said in a note.
U.S. crude oil and fuel inventories fell in the week to June 20 as refining activity and demand rose, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories fell by 5.8 million barrels, the EIA said, exceeding analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 797,000-barrel draw.
Gasoline stocks unexpectedly fell by 2.1 million barrels, compared with forecasts for a 381,000-barrel build as gasoline supplied, a proxy for demand, rose to its highest since December 2021.
On Saturday, Igor Sechin, the head of Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft, said OPEC+, which groups together the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, could bring forward its output hikes by around a year from the initial plan.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump hailed the swift end to war between Iran and Israel and said Washington would likely seek a commitment from Tehran to end its nuclear ambitions at talks with Iranian officials next week.
Trump also said on Wednesday that the U.S. has not given up its maximum pressure on Iran - including restrictions on sales of Iranian oil - but signalled a potential easing in enforcement to help the country rebuild.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
20 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
Oil climbs as investors shift focus to demand signals
LONDON: Oil prices edged higher on Thursday as investors remained cautious about the Iran-Israel ceasefire and shifted their attention to market fundamentals after a stock draw in the United States. Brent crude futures were up 52 cents, or 0.8%, to $68.20 a barrel at 1310 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 67 cents, or 1%, to $65.59 a barrel. Both benchmarks climbed nearly 1% on Wednesday, recovering from losses earlier in the week after data showed resilient U.S. demand. Brent futures are trading below their close of $69.36 on June 12, the day before Israel started airstrikes on Iran. Investors are shifting their focus to macroeconomics and oil balances, while monitoring the Israel-Iran truce, said PVM analyst Tamas Varga. Oil prices drop 6pc UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said oil prices had tracked equity markets so far on Thursday, while ANZ analysts said the U.S. driving season had started slowly but was now stoking demand. U.S. crude oil and fuel inventories fell in the week to June 20 as refining activity and demand rose, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Crude inventories fell by 5.8 million barrels, the EIA said, exceeding analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 797,000-barrel draw. Gasoline stocks unexpectedly fell by 2.1 million barrels, compared with forecasts for a 381,000-barrel build as gasoline supplied, a proxy for demand, rose to its highest level since December 2021. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump hailed the swift end to war between Iran and Israel and said Washington would likely seek a commitment from Tehran to end its nuclear ambitions at talks with Iranian officials next week. Trump also said on Wednesday that the U.S. was maintaining maximum pressure on Iran - including restrictions on sales of Iranian oil - but signalled a potential easing in enforcement to help the country rebuild. '(The) rapid push for a ceasefire suggests that President Trump remains sensitive to high oil prices, in our view, potentially capping the geopolitical risk premium even as the conflict may linger,' Citi said in a note on Thursday.
Express Tribune
2 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Stocks face profit-taking after two days of hefty gains
Stocks came under selling pressure at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday as the benchmark KSE-100 index gave up early gains and closed with a drop of over 700 points amid profit-taking. At the commencement of trading, the market extended its healthy momentum of the past two days, hitting intra-day high at 123,418 within the very first hour. However, profit-taking emerged soon afterwards, which gradually took the index to intra-day low of 122,142 before the end of trading. At close, the KSE-100 index settled at 122,046.46, down 715.18 points, or 0.58%. 'After a gain of almost 6.6k points (up 5.7%) in the last two sessions post Iran-Israel ceasefire, the PSX had a profit-taking day today (Thursday). Resultantly, the KSE-100 index wrapped up the session at 122,046 by shedding 715 points,' said Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Limited (AHL). During trading hours, the benchmark index saw some selling, with FY25 settlement falling on Monday (June 30). There are some institutional investors, who follow settlement date accounting and need to square their positions, if needed, he said. 'Early gains were extended up to 123,400 before the market came off to close 0.58% lower day-on-day at 122,046,' wrote AHL in its daily report. While 71 stocks declined, only 27 advanced, reflecting a broadly negative sentiment. Engro Fertilisers (+2.22%), National Foods (+8.07%) and Pakistan Petroleum (+0.79%) were the top contributors to index gains. On the other hand, Bank AL Habib (-2.84%), Lucky Cement (-1.86%) and Habib Bank (-2.59%) were the biggest drags, it said. In a key event, the Supreme Court provided a boost to the cement sector by suspending the Lahore High Court's directive that required Punjab-based manufacturers to pay 6% royalty on the ex-factory price. Additionally, Organic Meat Company gained 5.64% after announcing plans to begin exporting beef casings to Europe, a significant move seen by investors as a step towards diversification and growth, AHL said. 'Heading into the final session of the week, the KSE-100 has risen 1.69% week-to-date,' it said and expected the 120,000 level to act as a key support and potential base for push towards 130,000. Overall trading volumes increased to 758.5 million shares compared with Wednesday's tally of 749.8 million. The value of shares traded was Rs30 billion. Shares of 473 companies were traded. Of these, 200 stocks closed higher, 237 fell and 36 remained unchanged. Pakistan International Bulk Terminal was the volume leader with trading in 37.5 million shares, losing Rs0.06 to close at Rs8.52. It was followed by WorldCall Telecom with 33.3 million shares, falling Rs0.04 to close at Rs1.45 and Pervez Ahmed Consultancy with 33 million shares, gaining Rs0.25 to close at Rs3.29.
Business Recorder
3 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Oil steady as investors shift focus to demand signals
LONDON: Oil prices edged higher on Thursday as investors remained cautious about the Iran-Israel ceasefire and shifted their attention to market fundamentals after a stockdraw in the United States. Brent crude futures rose 34 cents, or 0.5%, to $68.02 a barrel by 1055 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 35 cents, or 0.5%, to $65.27 a barrel. Both benchmarks climbed nearly 1% on Wednesday, recovering from losses earlier in the week after data showed resilient U.S. demand. Brent futures are trading below their close of $69.36 on June 12, the day before Israel started air strikes on Iran. Investors are shifting their focus to macroeconomics and oil balances, while monitoring the Israel-Iran truce, said PVM analyst Tamas Varga. Oil prices drop 6pc UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said oil prices had tracked equity markets so far on Thursday, while ANZ analysts said the U.S. driving season had started slowly but was now stoking demand. U.S. crude oil and fuel inventories fell in the week to June 20 as refining activity and demand rose, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Crude inventories fell by 5.8 million barrels, the EIA said, exceeding analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 797,000-barrel draw. Gasoline stocks unexpectedly fell by 2.1 million barrels, compared with forecasts for a 381,000-barrel build as gasoline supplied, a proxy for demand, rose to its highest level since December 2021. On Saturday, Igor Sechin, the head of Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft, said OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, could bring forward its output hikes by around a year from an initial plan. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump hailed the swift end to war between Iran and Israel and said Washington would likely seek a commitment from Tehran to end its nuclear ambitions at talks with Iranian officials next week. Trump also said on Wednesday that the U.S. was maintaining maximum pressure on Iran - including restrictions on sales of Iranian oil - but signalled a potential easing in enforcement to help the country rebuild.
