Oil prices continue to rise on Friday

*West Texas crude is still under $40 a barrel

Future oil prices continued to rise on Friday morning in the Asian markets in reaction to the surprising decline in Russian oil exports, dealers in the market, as Russia reduced the exports of Ural crude to its lowest level in ten years. Also, as a reaction to the encouraging US data released yesterday, despite the large increase in coronavirus infections in different parts of the world, some governments have retreated from full economic openness.

Brent crude rose 41 cents, or 1%, to $ 41.53 a barrel at 11 am Singapore time, while West Texas crude rose 42 cents, or about 1.1%, to $ 39.14 a barrel.

Prices supported optimism among traders and analysts of the high demand for oil, as satellite imagery showed congestion in major cities of the world, especially in Chinese cities. Also, the increase in US production is still limited and there are still a large number of closed wells because the prices in the basins where these wells are still low due to the price differences between them and West Texas crude.

As for the encouraging US data, it included two factors. The first is that demand for durable goods in the United States increased much more than expected, increasing by 15.8% in May, after falling by about 18% in the previous month. The second is the decrease in the number of the unemployed for the first time by 2%.

The demand for durable goods is one of the basic measures of the health of the economy because it reflects consumer confidence on the one hand, and because durable goods are manufactured and increasing the demand for them means increased factory operation and high international trade.

SOURCE: attaqa.net