Oil prices settle higher as Middle East tensions persist

Investing.com– Oil prices rose Tuesday, rebounding after earlier losses, as traders digested ongoing tensions in the Middle East as well as slowing demand in major oil consumer China.

At 08:20 ET (12:20 GMT), Brent oil futures rose 0.7% to $74.77 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 0.8% to $70.58 a barrel. 

China rate cut, Middle East tensions provide support 

The oil markets have taken positive cues from Monday’s interest rate cut by the Chinese central bank.

However, gains have been limited as this move comes as part of a swathe of recent stimulus efforts from the country which have been greeted with limited optimism, as Beijing failed to provide details on the timing and scale of the planned measures. 

Concerns over a bigger Middle East conflict have also provided support, with the explosion of a drone near Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s house raising the prospect of an escalation in the conflict.

The focus is largely on Israel’s potential retaliation against Iran over an early-October attack, although reports last week said Israel will not target the country’s oil and nuclear infrastructure.

“Tensions in the Middle East continue to be reflected in the Brent options market,” said analysts at ING, in a note. “The volatility skew shows that calls are becoming increasingly more expensive than puts as participants buy protection in the event of a price spike, given the uncertain geopolitical environment. This also ties in with the larger traded volumes we have seen in call options recently.”  

IEA warns China will continue to weigh on oil demand

That said, the crude market still dropped around 7% last week after Chinese growth data disappointed.

International Energy Agency head Fatih Birol warned on Monday that weakness in top importer China will continue to weigh on global oil demand in the coming years.

Birol’s comments, made in an interview with Bloomberg, came after both the International Energy Agency and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries recently cut its demand growth forecast on concerns over China. 

China is the world’s biggest oil importer, and has been grappling with a prolonged downturn in economic growth, which is expected to quash the country’s appetite for crude.

Increased electric vehicle adoption in the country is also expected to dampen fuel demand. 

(Ambar Warrick contributed to this artcile.)