Oil Rebounds After Saudi-Led Alliance Cuts Qatar Ties Over Iran

EghtesadOnline: Oil rebounded after a Saudi-led alliance cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and moved to close off access to the Gulf country, raising tensions in the world’s biggest oil-producing region.

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05 June 2017

Futures rose as much as 1.6 percent in New York, paring the biggest weekly loss in a month. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt said they will suspend air and sea travel to and from Qatar, escalating a crisis that started over its relationship with Iran. Prices slumped last week amid concern that rising U.S. output will undercut supply curbs by OPEC and its partners, according to Bloomberg.

While the diplomatic spat hasn’t affected shipments, it raises the prospect of supply disruptions from the Middle East, including Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries members Saudi Arabia, Iran and Qatar. The nations all use the Strait of Hormuz, via which the U.S. Department of Energy estimates about 30 percent of seaborne oil trade passes. Crude had slipped below $50 a barrel amid concern that an extension of OPEC’s cuts won’t be enough to shrink global inventories as U.S. output expands.

“On the face of it, it could present a risk, but I don’t think there is too much in the Qatar situation,” said Daniel Hynes, an analyst in Sydney at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. “Geopolitical risks haven’t really been that influential in recent times and I don’t think that will change too much.”

West Texas Intermediate for July delivery climbed as much as 76 cents to $48.42 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $48.20 by 2:43 p.m. in Hong Kong. Total volume traded was about 53 percent above the 100-day average. Prices lost 70 cents to close at $47.66 on Friday, capping a 4.3 percent decline for the week.

Brent for August settlement added 57 cents to $50.52 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices fell 4.2 percent last week. The global benchmark crude traded at a premium of $2.09 to August WTI.

“The extension of OPEC cuts has provided a fairly solid support level for Brent around $50 a barrel, so anytime it dips below that, I think we’ll see buying come back fairly quickly,” said Hynes.

Drillers targeting crude in the U.S. added rigs for the 20th straight week to the highest level since April 2015, according to data Friday from Baker Hughes Inc. American producers are pumping at a rate of 9.34 million barrels a day, according to data from the Energy Information Administration.

Oil-market news:

The OPEC-led deal to curb output won’t stabilize the market over the long term as U.S. shale fills the supply shortfall, according to the chief executive officer of Russia’s Rosneft Oil Co. PJSC.

Saudi Arabia raised pricing for July sales of all crude grades to Asia, the U.S. and Northwest Europe as it seeks to take advantage of increased demand after supplies extended output cuts.

Hedge funds trimmed bets on rising WTI prices to the lowest level since November.