Oil prices climbed to their highest in just over two months on Monday, driven by escalating tensions in the Middle East, the start of hurricane season, and expectations of stronger demand for fuel ahead of holiday departures.
The price of a barrel of North Sea Brent crude for delivery in September, which is the first day of use as a reference contract, gained 1.88% to $86.60. Its American equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for delivery in August, rose 2.25% to $83.38.
Oil is “driven by escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah and a strong Chinese manufacturing PMI,” DNB analysts summarized.
Another factor in the price increase is that the hurricane season in the United States and the Caribbean has started early and strong, which continues to raise concerns about a possible impact on production and refining equipment in the Gulf of Mexico, which has not been affected for now.
Hurricane Beryl hit the Caribbean island of Grenada on Monday with “devastating” winds of up to 240 km/h, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned.
Finally, the rise in crude oil prices was driven by that of gasoline on the eve of a week of vacation departures in the United States. The markets will be closed on Thursday, July 4, the national holiday.
