Oil up slightly ahead of long US weekend as peace efforts hold

Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST

PERTH, July 3 : Oil prices rose slightly on Friday before a long holiday weekend in the U.S. as wary optimism held over efforts to make peace in the Middle East between the United States and Iran.

Brent futures were up 17 cents, or 0.24 per cent, to $72.10 a barrel as of 0155 GMT. West Texas Intermediate was up 14 cents, or 0.20 per cent, to $68.83 a barrel.

U.S. markets will close on Friday ahead of the U.S. Independence Day holiday on Saturday.

During the prior session the two benchmarks hit their lowest levels since before the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began in late February. Brent for the week was down 0.02 per cent and WTI up 0.12 per cent, the smallest weekly movements for both in months.

CNA Games

Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time

Buzzword
Create words using the given letters

Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser

Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge

Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less

“It's a case of guarded optimism, with the market wanting to believe the peace efforts will hold, but it’s still hedging its bets until it sees real evidence on the water,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.

Some nations are working to ramp up production with the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which prior to the beginning of the war carried one-fifth of the world’s daily supply of oil and liquefied natural gas.

Kuwait's oil production rose sharply to 1.65 million barrels per day in June from 580,000 bpd in May, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday, as the OPEC member boosted exports following the U.S.-Iran interim peace agreement.

Also, at least five supertankers carrying a total of 10 million barrels of Saudi oil have exited the Strait of Hormuz, with Saudi Aramco switching to spot pricing to speed sales in Asia, according to trade sources and shipping data.

Newsletter

Week in Review

Subscribe to our Chief Editor’s Week in Review

Our chief editor shares analysis and picks of the week's biggest news every Saturday.

Sign up for our newsletters

Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox

Subscribe here

Get the CNA app

Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories

Download here

Get WhatsApp alerts

Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app

Join here