Oil watchfully trades on Monday’s opening session due to the current tensions rising in the Middle East. The heightened oil rig count in the United States has also influenced prices because it suggested that producers are ready to increase production.
According to some traders, the uncertainties surrounding the Middle East hs heightened expectations that the OPEC-led supply reduction might be disrupted. An explosion in Bahrain that caught a fire at its main oil pipeline last Friday was caused by sabotage, Bahrain said. They also linked the attack to Iran, which Iran declined.
Looking on the price of oil, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures added as much as 13 cents and finished at $56.87 a barrel from its previous close. Meanwhile the international benchmark for oil prices London Brent crude gained 12 cents on the session and settled at $63.64 a barrel.
Prices were somehow supported by the ongoing efforts of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers, including Russia, to curb production, according to traders. There has been signs that the market is already tightening, which was bloated since 2014.
Regardless of OPEC’s effort and the tensions in the Middle East, traders are careful about placing their bets on higher prices because the drillings in the United States for fresh output increased.baker Hughes said last Friday said that drillers added nine rigs in the week to November 10. This is by far its biggest jump since June 2017.