What’s Affecting Oil Prices This Week? (October 16, 2023)
The conflict between #Israel...
The conflict between #Israel and #Hamas will continue to be the most important factor affecting the #oil markets and the situation will be in the forefront this week with Israel finishing preparations for a ground incursion into #Gaza. https://t.co/L3OKWKOUtLpic.twitter.com/oNmbFbrH6y
Biden to Visit Israel Amid Gaza Crisis, as Fears Grow of Wider War
President Biden plans to visit Israel on Wednesday,...
President Biden plans to visit Israel on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said in Israel in the early hours of Tuesday, setting up an extraordinary trip to a grieving nation on the brink of invading Gaza, the Palestinian territory already driven into a desperate humanitarian crisis by Israeli strikes that followed Hamas terrorist attacks.
The trip will be a remarkable gamble, demonstrating American solidarity with Israel and signaling that reinforcement to Iran, Syria and Hezbollah at a time of increasing anxiety about a regional war. But it also ties Mr. Biden, and the United States, to the bloodshed in Gaza, where two million people are trapped and critical supplies are dwindling.
Benchmark U.S. crude oilfor November delivery fell $1.03 to $86.66 a barrel Monday. Brent crude for December delivery fell $1.24to $89.65 a barrel.
Wholesale gasolinefor November delivery was unchangedat $2.27 a gallon. November heating oilfell 6 centsto $3.15 a gallon. November natural gasfell 13 cents to $3.11 per 1,000 cubic feet.
S&P 500 books best day since late-August as stocks rally to start the week
U.S. stocks rallied on Monday to finish the first trading day...
U.S. stocks rallied on Monday to finish the first trading day of the week in the green as investors shrugged off concerns the conflict that erupted last week between Israel and Hamas may lead to a broader war in the Middle East while looking ahead to the start of the third-quarter earnings season to better gauge the economy’s temperature. The Dow Jones Industrial AverageDJIA advanced 313 points, or 0.9%, to end at 33,984, while the S&P 500SPX rose 1.1% and the Nasdaq Composite COMP gained 1.2%.
The rally in the traditional safe-haven assets paused on Monday, with the most-active December gold contract settled lower, at $1,934.30 an ounce on Comex, reversing course after rising safe-haven demand spurred a series of gains in the yellow metal. U.S. Treasury yields rose on Monday afternoon, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury up 8.1 basis points to 4.709%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury jumped 8.8 basis points to 4.865%, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
70% chance Israel-Gaza war spreads, threatening oil, strategist warns
The Israel-Hamas war has a more than 50% chance of drawing in militant groups from Lebanon or Syria,...
The Israel-Hamas war has a more than 50% chance of drawing in militant groups from Lebanon or Syria, or producing a direct conflict with Iran — creating more oil disruptions than financial markets currently think.
That’s the view of Matt Gertken, chief geopolitical strategist for Montreal-based BCA Research. He sees a 70% chance of the conflict expanding beyond Gaza in the next 12 months.
Growing instability in the Middle East poses a 31% chance of major oil shocks and investors should prepare to make such shocks their base case over the next 12-24 months, according to BCA Research. Gertken recommends that investors “go long defense stocks and energy versus cyclicals.”