Oil Posts Biggest Weekly Gain in More Than a Year Ahead of Ida - Bloomberg

Oil Posts Biggest Weekly Gain in More Than a Year Ahead of Ida - Bloomberg

PRICES

• West Texas Intermediate for October delivery rose $1.32 to settle at $68.74 a barrel in New York
• Brent for October settlement gained $1.63 to end the session at $72.70 a barrel

Oil advanced as a brewing hurricane shuts Gulf of Mexico crude production while the Federal Reserve reinforced its support to begin tapering stimulus by the end of the year.

Futures in New York rose 2% on Friday to post the biggest weekly gain in more than a year. Oil producers in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico have begun shutting production ahead of Hurricane Ida, which may make landfall in the New Orleans area in the next few days as a Category 3 hurricane.

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank could begin reducing its monthly bond purchases this year, though it won’t be in a hurry to begin raising interest rates thereafter. The central bank had hinted at such asset tapering plans weeks ago.

“Clearly, the hurricane is what the market is focusing on now, at least in the short-term,” said Andrew Lebow, senior partner at Commodity Research Group. “We are going to be losing supply from refiners and some demand.”

Oil has had a volatile August with the fast-spreading delta variant of the virus leading to renewed restrictions on mobility and clouding the outlook for fuel demand. OPEC+ is scheduled to meet next week, and market-watchers surveyed by Bloomberg expect it will ratify another monthly output increase as it revives supplies halted during the pandemic.

#AbuDhabi bourse to cut trading commissions by 50%, extend trading hours | Reuters

Abu Dhabi bourse to cut trading commissions by 50%, extend trading hours | Reuters

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) said on Saturday it has cut its trading commissions by 50% and will extend its trading hours by one hour from Oct. 3.

The trading fees will be reduced to 0.025% from 0.05% from Sept. 1, the exchange's second commission cut this year and the third in three years, it said in a statement.

The trading hours extension should bring ADX into line with the operating hours of many exchanges globally, it said, part of moves to bolster market activity and to deepen market liquidity.

Oil posts biggest weekly gains in over a year ahead of Hurricane Ida | Reuters

Oil posts biggest weekly gains in over a year ahead of Hurricane Ida | Reuters

Oil prices rose 2% on Friday, posting their biggest weekly gains in over a year, as energy firms began shutting U.S. production in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of a major hurricane expected to hit early next week.

Brent futures rose $1.63, or 2.3%, to settle at $72.70 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.32, or 2.0%, to settle at $68.74.

That was the highest close for Brent since Aug. 2 and for WTI since Aug. 12.

For the week, Brent gained over 11% and WTI rose more than 10%, which was the biggest weekly percentage gains for both since June 2020.

"Energy traders are pushing crude prices higher in anticipation of disruptions in output in the Gulf of Mexico and on growing expectations OPEC+ might resist raising output given the recent Delta variant impact over crude demand," Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, said.