Middle East tensions drive oil prices
Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com
MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS DRIVE OIL PRICES
Oil prices are headed for their largest weekly rise in over a year on Friday, spurred by escalating Middle East tensions that have cast a pall over global markets ahead of the weekend.
Most equity indexes and stock futures were in the black, but gains were capped as investors speculated that Israel could imminently carry out retaliatory strikes on Iran.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 were set to gain around 8% for the week - its steepest since February 2023, while U.S. crude futures' CLc1 8.2% weekly rise would be the largest since March last year.
Markets may have found some solace from U.S. President Joe Biden saying he did not believe there is going to be an "all-out war" in the Middle East. However, he did previously indicate that the U.S. was discussing strikes on Iran's oil facilities as a response to Tehran's missile attack on Israel.
Notwithstanding oil's recovery from a low base and prices reverting to levels seen only a month ago, world stocks and investors' risk appetite are beginning to feel the pressure.
Should geopolitical tensions persist and oil prices continue to rise, investors may need to reassess their inflation forecasts.
The risk of a widening conflict in the Middle East is likely also keeping Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on his toes, and perhaps had some part to play when he said the U.S. central bank would likely stick with quarter-percentage-point interest rate cuts moving forward.
The last thing he would want is for the Fed to ease policy too quickly only to see a resurgence in inflation.
Of course, resilience in the U.S. economy is also the more obvious - and less worrying - reason to go slower on rate cuts.
September's nonfarm payrolls report takes centre stage later in the day, though recent data showing continued strength in the labour market and impressive services sector activity implies there is little to be nervous about heading into the release.
The day will also see a slew of speeches from European Central Bank policymakers and one from Bank of England's (BoE)chief economist Huw Pill.
It remains to be seen whether Pill could strike the same dovish tone as his boss Andrew Bailey, who said the BoE could move more aggressively to cut interest rates if inflation pressures continue to weaken.
In some good news elsewhere, U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast ports began reopening on Thursday night after dockworkers and port operators reached a wage deal to settle the industry's biggest work stoppage in nearly half a century.
Key developments that could influence markets on Friday:
- U.S. nonfarm payrolls report (September)
- Bank of England's Huw Pill speaks
- Speeches from various European Central Bank policymakers
(Rae Wee)
*****
Oil price wary amid prospects of war escalation https://reut.rs/3zM4k0O
Rising unemployment, rising risk https://reut.rs/4dvNtxQ
Activos relacionados
Últimas noticias
Descargo de responsabilidades: Cada una de las entidades de XM Group proporciona un servicio de solo ejecución y acceso a nuestra plataforma de trading online, permitiendo a una persona ver o usar el contenido disponible en o a través del sitio web, sin intención de cambiarlo ni ampliarlo. Dicho acceso y uso están sujetos en todo momento a: (i) Términos y Condiciones; (ii) Advertencias de riesgo; y (iii) Descargo completo de responsabilidades. Por lo tanto, dicho contenido se proporciona exclusivamente como información general. En particular, por favor tenga en cuenta que, los contenidos de nuestra plataforma de trading online no son ni solicitud ni una oferta para entrar a realizar transacciones en los mercados financieros. Operar en cualquier mercado financiero implica un nivel de riesgo significativo para su capital.
Todo el material publicado en nuestra plataforma de trading online tiene únicamente fines educativos/informativos y no contiene –y no debe considerarse que contenga– asesoramiento ni recomendaciones financieras, tributarias o de inversión, ni un registro de nuestros precios de trading, ni una oferta ni solicitud de transacción con instrumentos financieros ni promociones financieras no solicitadas.
Cualquier contenido de terceros, así como el contenido preparado por XM, como por ejemplo opiniones, noticias, investigaciones, análisis, precios, otras informaciones o enlaces a sitios de terceros que figuran en este sitio web se proporcionan “tal cual”, como comentarios generales del mercado y no constituyen un asesoramiento en materia de inversión. En la medida en que cualquier contenido se interprete como investigación de inversión, usted debe tener en cuenta y aceptar que dicho contenido no fue concebido ni elaborado de acuerdo con los requisitos legales diseñados para promover la independencia en materia de investigación de inversiones y, por tanto, se considera como una comunicación comercial en virtud de las leyes y regulaciones pertinentes. Por favor, asegúrese de haber leído y comprendido nuestro Aviso sobre investigación de inversión no independiente y advertencia de riesgo en relación con la información anterior, al que se puede acceder aquí.
