Oil rose to about $69 a barrel on Monday, supported by
Middle East tensions and OPEC-led supply cuts, though concern over the US-China
trade dispute and global economy capped gains, Reuters reported.
Supply cuts – both voluntary by the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, plus those resulting from US
sanctions – have helped Brent crude, the global benchmark, rise by 29 percent
this year.
Brent was up 48 cents at $69.17 a barrel by 1143 GMT, having
fallen by about 4.5% last week. US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 3 cents
to $58.66.
“The main factor preventing the market from going higher on
the geopolitical news is really the concern about the global economy,” said
Petromatrix oil analyst Olivier Jakob.
Both crude contracts registered their biggest weekly price
declines of the year last week. Public holidays in the United States and
Britain on Monday limited participation, keeping volumes low.
Tension between the United States and Iran, with
Washington’s announcement on Friday that it would deploy more troops to the
Middle East, is supporting the market but some analysts said its impact could
be limited.
“This move further increases tensions in the regions, but
with the US and UK markets closed today and most of the geopolitical tension
likely already priced in to the market, effects on crude prices may remain
subdued,” JBC Energy said in a report.
Nonetheless, concern about the global economy weighed.
Figures on Monday showed that profits for Chinese industrial companies shrank
in April while new orders for US-made capital goods fell more than expected.
“The macroeconomic outlook does not look good,” Jakob said.
Money managers cut their net long US crude futures and
options positions – bets on rising prices – in the week to May 21, the US
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.
In addition to the OPEC-led supply cuts, US sanctions on
OPEC members Iran and Venezuela have curbed their crude exports, reducing
supplies further.
Brent’s price structure remains in backwardation, with
prices for prompt delivery higher than those for future dispatch, suggesting a
tight balance between supply and demand.
