Crude oil futures were modestly higher at midday Friday and on track for a fourth straight day of gains on expectations of a September U.S. interest rate cut and ongoing worries that the conflict in the Mideast may widen.
The NYMEX September West Texas Intermediate contract was up by about 50cts to $76.65/bbl as of 11:50 a.m. ET and the October WTI contract was 40cts higher at $75.45/bbl.
London-based ICE Brent crude for October delivery was up by 40cts to $79.55/bbl and November Brent was 30cts higher at $78.70/bbl.
Both WTI and Brent are on track to end Friday's session with a week-to-week gain of about $3/bbl.
Refined product futures were little changed at midday. The NYMEX September RBOB contract was off by 0.2ct to $2.397/gal and October RBOB was up by 0.15ct to $2.206/gal.
The NYMEX September ULSD contract was off by 0.65ct to $2.3515/gal and October ULSD was off by the same amount to $2.3715/gal.
Crude futures were helped by a weaker U.S. dollar, which makes dollar-denominated oil futures cheaper for investors holding other currencies.
Renewed economic optimism also helped to support equity and energy commodity markets, as traders remained focused on Thursday's positive U.S. jobless claim numbers.
Supply worries also helped to underpin petroleum futures, as Iran again promised to retaliate against Israel after a Hamas leader was assassinated in Iran last week.
The peak weeks of the Atlantic hurricane season are approaching and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in an updated forecast Thursday continued to predict a "highly active" season, driven by near-record sea surface temperatures and possible La Niña conditions.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
--Reporting by Frank Tang, ftang@opisnet.com; Editing by Jeff Barber, jbarber@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
08-09-24 1242ET
