Oil gains as traders grapple with tight supplies, softer dollar
BNN Bloomberg
Oil rose as investors weighed solid physical market signals against concerns that a global slowdown will erode demand.
West Texas Intermediate futures rose above US$110 a barrel, erasing earlier losses, while trading volumes were curtailed by the US Fourth of July holiday. The dollar weakened, making commodities priced in the currency more attractive.
Crude has been buffeted over the past month by indications of an impending recession. Yet there have also been supply outages, with protests disrupting exports in Libya and workers in Norway set to strike, offsetting some of the weakness. Key time spreads also show a robust market.
Oil remains more than 40 per cent higher this year after being boosted by the war in Ukraine, which triggered a wave of sanctions on Russian flows. Many product prices are still elevated and Vitol Group, the biggest independent oil trader, warned at the weekend that surging fuel costs are starting to hurt demand.
