The October contract of WTI crude oil negotiated in New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) closed this Wednesday (2) with a moderate increase of 0.88%, quoted at US$ 91.01/barrel. The November contract for the Brent advanced 1.04% in Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)Oil, trading at US$95.63/barrel, rose sharply after starting the day in negative territory. However, prices gained momentum following US President Donald Trump's declaration that the Strait of Hormuz is under American control and his reiteration of his suggestion to rename the waterway. Trump's statement came after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed that Iranian forces had simultaneously attacked US bases in Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Erbil, Iraq. These pronouncements are leading investors to price in the cost of an unresolved and escalating war. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that US crude oil inventories – excluding strategic reserves – fell by 4.45 million barrels in the week ending August 28. 424.5 million barrels, exceeding expectations of a drop of 400,000 barrels. On the radar is the meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), scheduled for Sunday (6). The expectation is that the cartel will maintain its current oil production policy unchanged in October.
This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.