Oil prices continued to rise on Thursday post Saudi Arabia’s announcement on Wednesday, that it will they would be happy to see prices touch between 80$ and 100$ range per barrel. The comment was indicative of the production cuts that the oil giants seek to extend once the 2018 deadline approaches. Oil prices have risen by 7% making it one of the best –performing commodities at the present. Analysts have increased their forecasts for oil every month since August, affirming investor optimism towards consistent price rally.
It is confirmed that Saudi’s commercial crude stocks have declined by 1.1 million barrels last week to 427.57 million which is a slight miss from what the American Institute predicted on Tuesday. These are the numbers as per the U. S Energy Information Administration report on Wednesday.
At time of writing WTI Crude is traded at $67.84, with serious pressure around $70 level. On the downside, next support is located at 66.14. Given the fundamental background we are bullish of Crude and see no prerequisite whatsoever for sudden price reversal. Tensions in Syria and general political instability add to the pressure.
The global stock indexes were pushed higher due to the oil rally, and the energy sector supporting the profits. In Asia, the Hang Seng Index rose by 1.30% and the Nikkei 225 by 0.13 % in the early afternoon. Also in the green were the Shanghai Composite, Australia’s ASX 200 and South Korea’s Kospi.
On forex, the greenback continued to stay range –bound with the dollar slightly firming up. The US dollar index was trading at 89.67 DXY up 0.06%. The dollar gained 0.19%, trading at 107.45 yen. The dollar remained relatively flat against the euro, trading at 1.2373$.