Oil futures turned lower Monday morning, failing to hold gains scored during Asian trading hours as investors reacted to fears of a wider conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Crude oil futures fall as market remains rangebound; US demand hopes clash with China's 11% import drop.
Crude oil futures fall as market remains rangebound; US demand hopes clash with China's 11% import drop.
Shares in Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd (AIM:ECO, TSX-V:EOG) were up 7% in early trading after striking a deal that cancels shares and warrants owned by Africa Oil worth an estimated C$11.5 million. Eco is exchanging a 1% stake in Block 3B/4B in the Orange Basin offshore South Africa to complete the transaction, reducing its holding to 5.25%.
Oil prices rose on Monday, paring last week's loss, on fears of a widening conflict in the Middle East following a rocket strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, which Israel and the United States blamed on Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
Crude market at crossroads: $78.64 level key for direction. Falling U.S. stockpiles bullish, China demand bearish.
The crude oil markets have fallen a bit during the week, testing the bottom of the symmetrical triangle that we have been in for some time. Because of this, the market looks like it is going to remain a bit rangebound.
The crude oil market has drifted a little bit lower in the early hours of Friday, as we are digesting a bit of those gains from Thursday. This is a market that continues to see a lot of volatility.
U.S. oil is down 2.7% this week while Brent is 0.84% lower. Surprise rate cuts by China this week raised worries that Beijing is struggling to breathe life into the world's second largest economy.
Oil prices were little changed early Friday morning, weighed down by expectations of a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal that could move forward after U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met earlier this week, easing Middle East tensions.
Oil prices drop for third week as traders struggle with momentum, while U.S. growth beats expectations and China's demand declines. Read the full analysis now.
Oil prices were up slightly on Friday on stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data that raised investor expectations for increasing crude oil demand from the world's largest energy consumer.