Oil Heads for Biggest Weekly Gain Since February After Fed Cut
Oil was on track for the biggest weekly advance since February after a steep interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve, while traders continued to monitor simmering tensions in the Middle East.
West Texas Intermediate traded near $72 a barrel, and was up almost 5% for the week. Brent closed below $75 on Thursday. Optimism the Fed can engineer a soft landing for the US economy has sparked a risk-on tone across broader financial and commodity markets.
A series of walkie-talkie and pager explosions this week has increased fears of a full-blown war between Hezbollah and Israel, which neither confirmed or denied responsibility for the attacks. There are concerns that a wider conflict could involve Iran and threaten crude flows from the region.
Oil is still heading for a quarterly loss as China's economic slowdown and signs of ample supply weigh on the market. OPEC+ delayed a planned increased of output from October as the demand outlook weakened.
WTI for October delivery, which expires Friday, was steady at $72.00 a barrel at 7:31 a.m. in Singapore.
Brent for November settlement closed 1.7% higher at $74.88 a barrel on Thursday.
Source : Bloomberg
