West Texas Intermediate crude – the U.S. benchmark – traded at more than $50 a barrel before settling slightly lower on Thursday based on expectations for stronger demand and efforts by major producers to maintain a production curb agreement, according to Bloomberg MarketWatch.
October West Texas Intermediate oil climbed 59 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $49.89 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices were trading above $50 before the final settlement.
November Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 31 cents, or 0.6%, to end trading at $55.47 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe Exchange.
“Brent oil broke $55, a significant psychological level, urging investors to place bullish bets on the commodity,” said Adrienne Murphy, chief market analyst at AvaTrade. “However, investors are still reluctant to push [Brent] oil to the $60 level…given the market’s persistent sensitivity to bearish news.”
Meanwhile, natural gas prices climbed after the Energy Information Administration’s report revealed that domestic supplies of the fuel rose close to market expectations—up 91 billion cubic feet for the week ending September 8. It was more than the average forecast for a climb of 88 billion cubic feet by analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts.
October natural gas tacked on 1.2 cents, or 0.4%, to end trading at $3.070 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange.