West Texas Intermediate oil futures charged past $50 a barrel on Tuesday as Brent crude continued to post another positive gain, according to Bloomberg MarketWatch.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, September West Texas Intermediate crude rose 46 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $50.17 a barrel, its highest close since May 24.
September Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 13 cents, or 0.3%, to end trading at $52.65 a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
“Besides the relentless declines in U.S. oil stocks, changed OPEC rhetoric, Nigerian production issues and the trouble regarding Venezuela, it would seem that the market has also taken a liking to hearing U.S. oil companies cutting their capital budgets,” wrote analysts at JBC Energy, in a Monday note. “In fact, one could say that for all intents and purposes, it felt a bit like they were engaged in unintended OPEC-like market talk.”
September natural gas fell 14.7 cents, or 5%, to $2.794 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement since February 28.