Memorial Weekend Demand Lifts Oil Prices

Brent crude futures settled at $64.78 a barrel after chalking up 34 cents or 0.54 per cent, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures finished at $61.53 per barrel after increasing by 33 cents or 0.54 per cent.

The Memorial Day weekend kicks off the US summer driving season, the period of highest demand for motor fuels.

Meanwhile, US and Iranian negotiators met in Rome on Friday in another round of talks aimed at curtailing the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme.

Market analysts noted that traders are afraid crude supplies could be interrupted if talks fail to reach a deal.

There’s also a possibility that if the talks don’t go well, Israel may attack Iran.

President Donald Trump said yesterday he is recommending a straight 50 per cent tariff on goods from the European Union starting on June 1, adding that the bloc has been hard to deal with on trade.

His announcement came less than 30 minutes after he threatened to impose a tariff of at least 25 per cent on Apple’s iPhones if the company does not start manufacturing them in the US.

He later announced that this could extend to other smart phone manufacturers, such as Samsung, and would start at the end of June.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia (OPEC+) is holding meetings next week expected to yield another output increase of 411,000 barrels per day for July.

Earlier this month, it was reported widely that the group could unwind the rest of its 2.2 million barrels per day voluntary production cut by the end of October, having already raised output targets by about 1 million barrels per day for April, May and June.

As it stands, the impact of tariffs on oil demand and OPEC+’s expectation to increase supply again, remain the two factors pressuring the market.