FX.co ★ Oil prices slightly rise after storms on Gulf of Mexico subsided, prospects calm growth

The price of crude oil slightly went up on Monday morning. After the weather conditions in the Gulf of Mexico had improved, market participants have again shifted their attention to the unceasing growth of coronavirus cases around the globe.

At present, the threat that the crude oil market may face serious problems is not yet seen. The prospects for its development still look quite positive. However, according to most experts, it is not worth waiting for a rapid and enthusiastic rise in value in the near future, investors need to get ready for a rather slow but sure upward movement (perhaps with more frequent stops for correction). The reason for this restrained optimism is the difficult epidemiological situation in the world. Countries that lift COVID-19 quarantine restrictions and reopen after the pandemic will inevitably re-record outbreaks. This fact, of course, alarms the world markets, which are not ready for the return of the situation this spring.

According to the latest data, the total number of COVID-19 cases around the world has already passed the 25.2 million mark. At the same time, the number of deaths already went up by 845,000 today. The epicenter of the disease is rapidly shifting: now India is under a special threat, where the number of infected is growing so rapidly that the state has already become the third in the number of deaths from COVID-19. The United States of America, which could not cope with the increase in the number of patients for quite some time seems to have managed to turn the tide. Currently, the total number of infected cases in the US is about 6 million, which remains a big sum but the threat of a sharp increase no longer stands.

In addition to this, investors are monitoring statistics on changes in activity in oil production in the US. According to the US oilfield services corporation Baker Hughes, on Friday last week, there was a decrease in drilling activity in the country. Thus, the number of actually operating oil production units in America has decreased by three units according to the last week's results. Now there is a total number of 180 drilling units. This news also gives market participants some confidence that a sharp drop in the price of crude oil will not be expected in the near future.

The price of futures contracts for Brent crude oil for delivery in October on the trading floor in London increased by 0.46% or $ 0.21 Monday morning, which allowed it to move to the level of $ 46.02 per barrel. Note that the price of raw materials following the auction on Friday slightly corrected downward by 0.09% or $ 0.04. Bidding for contracts for October delivery ends today.

The price of futures contracts for WTI crude oil for delivery in October on the electronic trading floor in New York also slightly went up by 0.23% or $ 0.1, and the price moved to the level of $ 43.07 per barrel. On the last trading day last week, commodities also fell not too seriously by 0.2% or $ 0.07.

By the end of last week, Brent crude oil showed good dynamics with a price increase of 1.6%. WTI crude oil also increased approximately within the same range at 1.5%.