Crude posted its biggest weekly gain since July last year as the appointment of a hardliner for US national security adviser fueled speculation sanctions on Iran will be reimposed.
Futures in New York climbed 5.7 percent this week.
US President Donald Trump is taking a hawkish foreign-policy turn by picking John Bolton for the job, drawing the market’s attention to one of OPEC’s largest producers.
“We’re seeing the Bolton premium being priced in,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, a New York-based hedge fund. “There’s geopolitical jitters. This switch in national security advisers is going to make the market uneasy about what lies ahead in terms of dealing with Iran.”
Crude this week surpassed US$65 a barrel for the first time since early last month as geopolitical tension adds to signs that OPEC and its partners are succeeding in draining a global glut.
Crude stockpiles in the US finally ticked below the closely watched five-year average mark for the first time since 2014.
Yet, record-high US crude production, coupled with concerns over a potential trade war with China that could thwart economic growth, is keeping the rally at bay.
West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery on Friday rose US$1.58 to settle at US$65.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 5.7 percent for the week.
Brent for May settlement advanced US$1.54 to US$70.45 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, the highest level since late January. Brent futures are up 6.4 percent this week, the biggest weekly gain since July last year.
Any resumption of unilateral US sanctions against Iran could lead to a drop in the country’s oil exports by 250,000 to 500,000 barrels a day by the end of this year, oil and gas researcher FGE said last week in a note.
“I think we are at the top of the range,” Thomas Finlon, director of Energy Analytics Group LLC in Wellington, Florida, said in a telephone interview. “It’s reasonable to assume that US$70 represents a short-term ceiling for Brent.”
Oil market news:
‧ Gasoline futures on Friday rose 0.5 percent to US$2.0194 a gallon.
‧ Royal Dutch Shell PLC is selling its stake in Iraq’s West Qurna 1 field, abandoning the last of its oil assets in the country as it focuses on natural gas.
‧ Bank of America Merrill Lynch sees oil demand growth at 1.5 million barrels a day this year and 1.3 million a day next year, analysts wrote in a report.
‧ Lukoil PJSC is cautious about oil prices over the next decade, but promised to be generous to shareholders.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors