Oil prices are virtually unchanged on Wednesday morning after rising the day before.
The price of February futures for Brent on London’s ICE Futures Exchange at 8:05 a.m. Moscow time is $79.94 per barrel, which is $0.05 (0.06%) lower than at the close of the previous session. Those contracts rose by 19 cents (0.2%) to $79.99 a barrel at the close of trading on Tuesday.
The price of WTI futures for February at electronic trades on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is $76.17 per barrel by that time, which is $0.06 (0.08%) below the final value of the previous session. The contract rose by $0.85 (1.1%) to $76.23 per barrel at the end of last session.
The previous day oil quotations were supported by decline of the US dollar rate, which increased the attractiveness of oil as an object for investments of holders of other currencies.
In addition, investors are following the situation with the coronavirus in China. The removal of quarantine restrictions and government stimulus measures are believed to be positive factors for fuel demand in the long term. At the same time, rising COVID-19 infections are dampening the market’s optimism, MarketWatch notes.
“After a long period of liquidating long positions, the market has become more balanced, and a bullish mood is gradually returning to oil traders,” SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes wrote. – Despite all concerns about the recession in the economy, there are still those who want to buy oil after a decrease in its quotations. This demonstrates that oil is one of the most needed commodities in the world.
At the same time, reduced liquidity in the market, which is traditionally observed at the end of the year, puts pressure on quotations, the expert added.
