Oil prices rose on Friday despite concerns about the global economy and demand for energy resources after a rate hike in the U.S. and euro zone.
July Brent futures on London’s ICE Futures exchange stood at $73.21 a barrel by 8:04 a.m. Friday, up $0.71 (0.98%) from the previous session’s closing price. Those contracts rose $0.17 (0.2%) to $72.5 a barrel on Thursday.
The price of WTI futures for June oil grew by $0.63 (0.92%) up to $69.19 per barrel at electronic trades of NYMEX by that time. At the end of previous session the contracts went down by $0.04 (0.1%) to $68.56 per barrel, which was the lowest since March 20.
The day before, the European Central Bank expectedly raised all three key interest rates by 25 basis points (bps). Thus, the benchmark interest rate on loans now stands at 3.75%, the deposit rate at 3.25% and the rate on margin loans at 4%.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve also raised its key interest rate by 25 bps, its range now being the highest since 2007 at 5-5.25% per year. Meanwhile, the words about the necessity to further tighten the monetary policy disappeared from the press release on the results of the meeting.
In addition, it became known that Saudi Arabia in June will raise the price of oil with delivery to European countries, and for Asian buyers the fuel will become cheaper. Prices for oil with delivery in the U.S. next month will not change, with the exception of grade Arab Light, which will become cheaper by $0.5 per barrel, said state company Saudi Aramco.
