WTI oil futures climb, but hold below $40 a barrel

 

 

Oil settled higher on Tuesday, finding support from expectations for a second weekly decline in U.S. crude supplies.

Prices scored a partial rebound from the sharp decline in oil seen a day earlier, when the rise of COVID-19 cases and potential for renewed activity restrictions in Europe fed a global equity selloff reported MarketWatch.

Tuesday’s oil-price rise was modest. Energy traders struggled “to assess the uncertainty with U.S. production as we approach the last two months of hurricane season [and] how bad the demand outlook will get following the winter wave of the coronavirus,” as Libyan oil production slowly bounces back, said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda.

West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery  on the New York Mercantile Exchange edged up by 29 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $39.60 a barrel after a decline of 4.3% on Monday. The contract expired at the day’s settlement. The November WTI contract , which is now the front month, settled at $39.80, up 26 cents, or 0.7%.

Global benchmark November Brent crude, meanwhile, rose 28 cents, or 0.7%, at $41.72 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.

Source: MarketWatch