Oil extends recovery as Trump hints at intervening in Saudi-Russia price war – Oil prices recovered further on Friday, following steep gains in the previous session after U.S. President Donald Trump hinted he may intervene in the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia at an “appropriate time”.
Prices were also supported by United States’ plans to buy up to 30 million barrels of crude oil for its emergency stockpile by the end of June, while regulators in the country’s largest oil-producing state Texas were reportedly considering curtailing production.
The more active West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures contract for May CLc2 was up 43 cents, or 1.7% at $26.34 a barrel by 0540 GMT.
The contract rose as much as 5.5% to $27.34 per barrel earlier in the session. U.S. crude futures for April CLc1 also rose 43 cents to $25.65 a barrel. The front-month April contract, which spiked 24% on Thursday, expires later on Friday.
“An astonishing rebound in crude oil prices overnight was primarily driven by U.S’s consideration to intervene in the oil market by increasing strategic reserves, while slashing some oil production,” said Margaret Yang, market analyst at CMC Markets.
