Interrupted oil production in Kazakhstan
The geopolitical tensions sparked a more than 1% increase in crude oil prices on Tuesday while some Oklahoma energy stocks experienced big losses.
Investors were wary as they watched President Trump’s threats of higher U.S. tariffs on the European countries opposed to his desire to buy Greenland. But there was also the issue of a temporary suspension of output at Kazakhstan’s oil fields and expectations of firmer global economic growth that could drive fuel demand, reported Reuters.
West Texas Intermediate crude for February gained 90 cents or 1.51% to settle at $60.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The February crude contract expired Tuesday.
Natural gas soared by nearly 26% on Tuesday, settling at $3.907 MMBtu after a gain of $0.804 or 25.91%.
Oklahoma energy stocks recorded a split among those with gains and firms which finished down for the day. Empire Petroleum Corporation recorded an 8% loss while Expand Energy and Gulfport Energy Corp. each had a nearly 5% gain.