Oil Price - April 5
Posted: Fri Apr 05, 2019 6:12 pm
WTI closed at $63.26/bbl on Friday, April 5. That is a $3.06/bbl increase for the week.
Oil prices rose in early trading on Friday on risks in Libya and positive trade news from the U.S.-China negotiations. “The geopolitics around Libya and Venezuela, alongside the possible reflation of risk appetite on positive U.S.-China trade talks may well pull the market out of its morning doldrums,” Harry Tchilinguirian, global oil strategist at BNP Paribas, told the Reuters Global Oil Forum. On Thursday, Brent briefly topped $70 per barrel for the first time this year, although it fell back again. On Friday, Brent was hovering just below that threshold.
Potential turmoil in Libya threatens supply. The head of the Libyan National Army, Khalifa Haftar, ordered his troops to march on Tripoli on Thursday, dramatically escalating the risk of turmoil in the country. If oil production in the country is disrupted, it would “noticeably increase the pressure on Saudi Arabia to open up the oil tap again, as it did in the autumn”, Commerzbank said in a note.
U.S. and China make more progress on trade deal. President Donald Trump met with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He at the White House on Thursday as the two sides inch closer to a landmark deal that could end the trade war. The agreement reportedly would give China until 2025 to meet commitments on commodity purchases from the U.S. and for the concession of allowing 100 percent foreign ownership for American companies operating in China. Expectations are rising that a breakthrough is close and could be announced in the next few weeks.
IMO an end to the "Tariff War" could add $5/bbl to WTI.
Oil prices rose in early trading on Friday on risks in Libya and positive trade news from the U.S.-China negotiations. “The geopolitics around Libya and Venezuela, alongside the possible reflation of risk appetite on positive U.S.-China trade talks may well pull the market out of its morning doldrums,” Harry Tchilinguirian, global oil strategist at BNP Paribas, told the Reuters Global Oil Forum. On Thursday, Brent briefly topped $70 per barrel for the first time this year, although it fell back again. On Friday, Brent was hovering just below that threshold.
Potential turmoil in Libya threatens supply. The head of the Libyan National Army, Khalifa Haftar, ordered his troops to march on Tripoli on Thursday, dramatically escalating the risk of turmoil in the country. If oil production in the country is disrupted, it would “noticeably increase the pressure on Saudi Arabia to open up the oil tap again, as it did in the autumn”, Commerzbank said in a note.
U.S. and China make more progress on trade deal. President Donald Trump met with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He at the White House on Thursday as the two sides inch closer to a landmark deal that could end the trade war. The agreement reportedly would give China until 2025 to meet commitments on commodity purchases from the U.S. and for the concession of allowing 100 percent foreign ownership for American companies operating in China. Expectations are rising that a breakthrough is close and could be announced in the next few weeks.
IMO an end to the "Tariff War" could add $5/bbl to WTI.