Oil futures rebound as dollar declines and equities advance
BNN Bloomberg
Oil rose after its first drop in three sessions as the dollar weakened and financial markets strengthened.
West Texas Intermediate futures traded above $73 a barrel after closing 0.3 per cent lower on Wednesday. The dollar fell and European stocks and U.S. equity futures climbed as broader markets bet that a peak in interest rates is near and that turmoil in the banking sector will continue to ease. A softer dollar makes commodities priced in the U.S. currency more attractive.
Crude futures also have been supported this week by a dispute involving Iraqi, Turkish and Kurdish authorities that halted about 400,000 barrels a day of exports from the Ceyhan port.
On Wednesday, U.S. government data showed crude inventories shrank the most this year last week, though demand for distillates continued to languish at the lowest seasonal level since 2016, a sign of a lackluster economy.
