Oil prices rise nearly $2 amid broad market optimism

Oil prices rise nearly $2 amid broad market optimism
# 10 March 2018 01:50 (UTC +04:00)

Oil prices rose nearly $2 on Friday, rebounding from two days of declines as Wall Street climbed on strong U.S. jobs data, while investors also grew hopeful that a planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un could ease geopolitical tensions, APA reports quoting Reuters.

Brent crude LCOc1 futures rose $1.88 to settle at $65.49 a barrel, a 2.96 percent gain. Brent traded between $63.69 and $65.63 during the session.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures rose $1.92 to settle at $62.04 a barrel, a 3.19 percent gain. U.S. crude traded between $60.14 and $62.14.

Oil prices extended gains in post-settlement trade, with both benchmarks up more than $2.

Both Brent and U.S. crude notched weekly percentage gains after weekly percentage losses last week.

Trump said he was prepared to meet Kim in what would be the first face-to-face encounter between leaders from the two countries and could mark a breakthrough in a standoff over the North’s nuclear weapons. Kim also has committed to suspending further nuclear or missile tests. [MKTS/GLOB]

Wall Street jumped after U.S. payrolls data showed strong job additions in February. The S&P 500 index .SPX was last up about 1.5 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite index .IXIC hit a record high on the day, further supporting oil prices. Crude futures and stock indices have recently moved in tandem.

The jobs report “speaks to strong, underlying economic conditions, and growth, which includes increased energy demand,” said John Kilduff, partner at investment manager Again Capital in New York.

Also bullish for oil prices, Libya’s 70,000 barrels per day El Feel oilfield stayed shut despite the Petroleum Facilities Guard saying it had reached a deal to reopen it, according to a field engineer and local mediator.

Hedge funds and money managers cut their bullish wagers on U.S. crude for the first time in three weeks, data showed on Friday.

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