Written by Colleen Howe
BEIJING (Reuters) – Crude oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Tuesday, supported by signs of improving demand and escalating tensions in the Middle East that helped push U.S. futures to a five-month high in early trading. did.
Brent futures for June delivery rose 37 cents to $87.79 a barrel by 0046 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures for May contract rose 32 cents to $84.03 a barrel.
Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG, said in a note that stronger-than-expected manufacturing data from the U.S. and China were driving prices higher.
Manufacturing activity in China and the United States expanded in March for the first time in six months and 18 months, respectively, in what markets viewed as an indicator of rising oil demand. China is the world’s largest importer of crude oil, and the United States is the largest consumer.
Sycamore said if U.S. futures break through technical resistance at $84.00 a barrel, prices could rise to the mid-$90s. The last time the WTI instant monthly contract touched the $95/barrel level was in August 2022.
The front-month contract settled at $83.71 per barrel on Monday, the highest closing price since October 2023.
In the Middle East, an Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy in Syria killed seven military advisers, including three senior commanders, marking an escalation in the nearly six-month-old conflict, and oil Concerns have been raised about more specific impacts on supply.
“The market is not concerned about supply disruptions so far as the war remains contained. Iran’s involvement could threaten the country’s oil supplies,” ANZ analysts said in a note. Ta.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will hold an online meeting of its Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee on Wednesday to review the market and the implementation of production cuts by member countries. Member countries are expected to maintain their current supply policy, which calls for voluntary production cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) until the end of the second quarter.
(Reporting by Colleen Howe; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
