JABAR EKSPRES – Crude oil futures prices rose in late trading Friday (6/30) morning WIB, drawing continued support from bullish US oil inventory data last week, but capped by concerns that rising interest rates could hurt global economic growth.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures for August delivery rose 30 cents, or 0.43 percent, to settle at 69.86 US dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for August delivery rose 31 cents, or 0.42 percent, to close at 74.34 US dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
WTI oil gained as traders remained focused on a bullish report of a larger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude inventories by the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA), said Vladimir Zernov, analyst at market information supplier FX Empire.
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US crude inventories fell by 9.6 million barrels in the week ended June 23, much higher than analysts’ expectations for a moderate decline, according to data released by the EIA on Wednesday (6/28).
“Oil prices continued to recover on Thursday after falling back to their lowest range on Wednesday,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA, a supplier of multi-asset online trading services.
Meanwhile, hawkish comments from central bank officials and economic uncertainty continued to limit oil price gains.
The gradual consolidation of crude oil prices does not appear to be ending, with prices merely fluctuating between a range of highs and lows over the past few months, according to Erlam.
Crude oil traders remain torn between rising interest rates and global recession concerns against rising travel demand and shrinking crude supplies,” said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial.
Investors are concerned about rising interest rates and economic growth after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated that he expects the moderate pace of interest rate decisions to continue in the coming months.
