Oil prices rose Thursday in electronic trade, with Middle East supply concerns in focus after an increase in deadly violence in Egypt.
Crude oil for September delivery rose 44 cents, or 0.4%, to $107.29 a barrel. The contract on Wednesday reversed course to settle higher by 2 cents on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Also higher on Thursday was September Brent crude . It gained 38 cents, or 0.3%, to $110.58 a barrel, returning above the $110 handle which it hadn’t hit since April 3, according to FactSet data.
Prices strengthened following media reports that at least 278 people had died and more than 2,000 were injured across Egypt as police shut down protest camps set up by supporters of former president Mohammed Morsi, who was ousted in early July. Egypt’s provincial government has declared a month-long state of emergency.
In a letter indicating his opposition to the government’s use of force to crack down on the camps, Egypt’s interim Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei turned in his resignation to interim President Adly Mansour on Wednesday.
While Egypt is not a major oil producer, it serves as an important transit hub for oil transported through the Suez Canal and the Suez-Mediterranean pipeline.
Prices for West Texas Intermediate crude first pushed above $100 a barrel in early July as Egypt was gripped by massive protests calling for Morsi’s removal from office.
Commerzbank on Wednesday noted Brent’s move to $110 a barrel on ICE Futures also came amid growing supply issues in Libya stemming from labor strikes at export terminals, as well as in Iraq where more maintenance work is scheduled for September.
“If the situation eases in Libya, however, Brent could quickly find itself under pressure in view of the record-high speculative net long positions,” said Commerzbank analysts.
The September Brent contract expires later Thursday. The more-active October Brent crude contract rose 43 cents, or 0.4%, to $109.25 a barrel.
Investors will also monitor a round of U.S. economic reports for any signals about energy demand.
Among the data, the Labor Department is due to report on July consumer prices and weekly jobless claims. The unemployment claims are expected to hold steady from the previous week, keeping them at a near five-year low at 333,000, according to a MarketWatch poll of economists.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Fed’s survey of manufacturers is expected to show a reading of 15.0 for August, according to the MarketWatch poll. In July, the index surged to a two-year high at 19.8.
September gasoline rose 1 cent to $2.99 a gallon, extending Wednesday’s rise of 1.4%. September heating oil tacked on 1 cent, or 0.3%, to $3.06 a gallon
September natural gas slipped 1 cent, or 0.2%, to $3.33 per million British thermal units following Wednesday’s jump of 1.7%.
Source : Marketwatch
