Oil prices rise as dollar weakness backs commodities

Singapore — Oil prices rose on Tuesday as a weaker US dollar supported commodities and on expectations that crude inventories fell in the US, the world’s biggest oil user, though rising coronavirus cases in Asia capped gains.

Brent crude futures for June delivery rose by 54c, or 0.8%, to $67.59 a barrel at 4.15am GMT.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for May delivery, which expire on Tuesday, were up 53c, or 0.8%, to $63.91 a barrel. The more-active June contract was at $63.93, up 0.8%, or 50c.

Buyers using other currencies pay less for dollar-denominated oil when the greenback weakens.

“US dollar weakness continues to offer support to the commodities complex, despite concerns over oil demand in certain regions,” ING Economics said in a note.

The dollar index slumped to a six-week low against other major currencies on Monday after a plunge in US treasury yields last week and remained near the low at 91.055 on Tuesday.

Also supporting prices, US crude oil and distillate stockpiles were expected to have dropped last week, while fuel inventories were likely to have risen, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday.

The poll was conducted ahead of reports from industry group American Petroleum Institute due on Tuesday and the Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the US department of energy, on Wednesday.

Libya’s National Oil declared force majeure on Monday on exports from the port of Hariga and said it could extend the measure to other facilities because of a budget dispute with the country’s central bank. The disruption could cut Libya’s oil output by 280,000 barrels a day, knocking production below 1-million barrels for the first time since October, ING said.

Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports fell to their lowest in eight months in February, the Joint Organisations Data Initiative said on Monday, illustrating the world’s biggest oil exporter’s commitment to its voluntarily output cap to support oil prices.

However, surging Covid-19 cases in India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer, dampened optimism for a sustained recovery in global fuel demand.

Reuters