The geopolitical situation continues to control crude price movements as both WTI and Brent fell slightly once the U.S. announced that it was monitoring the movement of two Iranian warships through the Suez Canal on their way to Syria. Both crudes had been trending upward prior to the White House announcement.
Bahrain and Libya are experiencing violent demonstrations with deaths caused by police and military reactions to those demeonstrations. Brent traders are normally buying futures for non-U.S. interests and Brent has been significantly more affected by the events in the Middle East than WTI. WTI has been shielded from greater price volatility because of the continuing inventory build in the Cushing, OK, terminals.
The past week has seen very little volatility in either product as the Egyptian problem is not as pressing. The fundamentals of Cushing and the geopolitical issues of the Middle East weigh greater on the minds of analysts than the action in the currency markets or how China is dealing with its economy.
For the week, WTI -24¢, $86.10; Brent -10¢, $102.58; gasoline +2.17¢, $2.5518; distillate -1.88¢, $2.7131.
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