MARKET WATCH: Oil prices rise on hopes of US-China trade dispute resolution

Jan. 9, 2019
The light, sweet crude oil price for February rose Jan. 8, settling just under the $50/bbl mark on the New York market while the Brent crude oil price for March settled just below $59/bbl on rising hopes of a trade dispute resolution between the US and China.

The light, sweet crude oil price for February rose Jan. 8, settling just under the $50/bbl mark on the New York market while the Brent crude oil price for March settled just below $59/bbl on rising hopes of a trade dispute resolution between the US and China.

In-person discussions between officials of the two large economies—the first since the 90-day truce in the trade war agreed to in December—continue Jan. 9.

“The trade situation is definitely bullish; you have a good demand construction if we can wrap up this trade deal,” said Bob Yawger, director of futures at Mizuho in New York, Reuters reported.

Energy prices

The February light, sweet crude contract on NYMEX gained $1.26 to settle at $49.78/bbl on Jan. 8 while the contract for March delivery settled at $50.11/bbl, up $1.29.

NYMEX natural gas for February gained 2¢ to close at $2.96/MMbtu on Jan. 8.

Ultralow-sulfur diesel for February was up nearly 5¢ to a rounded $1.83/gal. The NYMEX reformulated gasoline blendstock for February nudged up 2¢ to $1.36/gal.

Brent for March gained $1.39 to $58.72/bbl on London’s International Commodity Exchange while the April contract gained $1.34 to settle at $58.89/bbl. The gas oil contract was $546.50/tonne on Jan. 8, up $3.25.

The average price for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ basket of crudes was $56.11/bbl on Jan. 8, down 11¢.