Oil prices rise moderately on Tuesday morning after a noticeable decline in the previous session.
The price of June futures for Brent on London’s ICE Futures Exchange stood at $84.91 per barrel by 8:13 a.m., $0.15 (0.18%) above the previous session’s closing price. Those contracts were down $1.55 (1.8%) to $84.76 a barrel at the close of trading on Monday.
The price of WTI futures for May at electronic trades of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is $80.96 per barrel by that time, which is $0.13 (0.16%) above the final value of the previous session. The day before contract fell by $1.69 (2.1%) to $80.83 per barrel.
As it became known on Monday, the index of New York Empire Manufacturing activity rose to plus 10.8 points in April from minus 24.6 points in the previous month. The indicator climbed into positive territory for the first time in five months and hit its highest level since July 2022. Analysts polled by Trading Economics had on average expected a rise to only minus 18 points.
The indicator pointed to the resilience of the U.S. economy, which increases the likelihood of new interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, MarketWatch noted.
On the other hand, some traders believe that U.S. GDP growth will continue to slow, which “limits the upside potential for oil prices and increases pressure” on the market, Zaye Capital Markets investment director Naeem Aslam said.
He said oil prices are more likely to decline than to rise, with prices likely to dip below $80 a barrel.
